Unexpected Invitation
by Seditious
Summary: Denmark decides to take a long walk to get things off of his mind, and ends up in Hungary's territory. Thus sparks a series of events that bring the two closer than ever before, as well as bring out their past Viking and Hun selves. R&R please!
1. Authors' Note

In an effort to spread the DenHun love, we have agreed to upload our roleplay onto **FanFiction**, along with deviantART (where xNeyu posts it in the **DenHun-FC**). Originally, this was on an Axis Powers Hetalia forum and was freely read without requiring registration, but for reasons even the two of us don't know, registration is now required to have complete access to the forum; thus, guests cannot read the roleplay, and now we're copy-pasting the roleplay to dA and FF for everyone to read. Though the forum is actually back to being public, we are continuing to publish it for it to reach more readers.

Den/Hun, or Denmark/Hungary, was brought up to us in a very strange way; the two of us loved the pairing instantly, seeing as both nations, at some point of time, gained much power: Denmark and the Vikings, and Hungary and the Huns. Because of that, we thought that Denmark and Hungary together was just too fitting and couldn't help but to start a new fandom. Though this chapter shows the two nations respecting each other, much will change in later chapters.

The roleplay will be divided into and uploaded as chapters, with lines indicating the different posts. In this roleplay, the nations are referred to using their real names (if applicable); Denmark will be referred to as Mathias Køhler, a fanon name. Though called Elizabeta, according to the Hetalia Wikia, Hungary will be called Elizaveta throughout this. This chapter begins with **Hungary's POV** and consistently switches back and forth between her and Denmark.

Please remember that this is an RP, not entirely a fanfiction - this has, essentially, no plot line (though, later on, we attempt to develop one). Also, these posts are _not_ revised, so do not expect perfect grammar or spelling, wonderful paragraph and sentence structures, etc. (Also, some of these posts were typed up _very_ late at night/early in the morning, due to our addiction to this pairing, haha...)

We have done our best to incorporate the personalities, behaviors, and traditions of the Danes and Hungarians while simultaneously basing them off of Himaruya's depictions of Denmark and Hungary.

Because our roleplay has not yet ended, we do not know if there will be mature content in this roleplay, but we warn you that there may be some soon. I will make sure to add warnings to any chapters will/may have mature content when uploaded.

Hope you guys enjoy reading this and develop more love for this pairing!


	2. Chapter 1

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 1**

Please read the Author's Comments before reading.  
Warning: Very long. xD

* * *

Elizaveta was simply tired and sick of this.

Roderich was having his own problems with surrounding nations again - Europe, in general. Vash was arguing with Roderich, as he usually does whenever they meet, and even Gilbert was claiming that he was "bored" to give an excuse for trying to claim Roderich's vital regions. Once Ludwig got in the way to stop Gilbert and Roderich, Gilbert fabricated a reason to blame Roderich for starting it so that he could try and get at his vital regions "as revenge" and - well, hell just ensued there. Luckily, Elizaveta had arrived there in time to knock some sense into Gilbert with her partner-in-crime frying pan.

No, none of this was not even related to Elizaveta. But Roderich's problems essentially became Elizaveta's sooner or later, even if they were ex-spouses. _This is probably what you get for being an independent nation_, she told herself.

Nowadays, Elizaveta took walks and sat down in this massive grassy field she had recently found. It was always a little windy there (it definitely does not help that she has thick, voluminous hair when the weather was like that), but she was able to tolerate it. To her surprise, these walks and just staring off into the sky relieved her from anything that made her stressed.

Elizaveta was lying there now, watching two birds tease each other as they danced in the sky. As the birds flew out of sight, she sighed and closed her eyes, slowly falling asleep as the gentle noises around her were filtered from her hearing.

* * *

Mathias kept tossing up and down a _krone_ as he strode down a stone pathway. Things hadn't been going too well back at the Nordic side of the continent. He was getting tired of Berwald and Tino acting all...all cute all the time, and was actually quite glad that they had left his house to go live off on their own. Then of course there was Norway and Iceland who, ever since they were actually proven to be brothers, were hanging out more than ever. That left him, Mathias, alone most of the time. Matter-of-fact, Iceland had taken Norway off on a boating trip earlier that morning, so he probably wouldn't see them for a day or two.

_What happened to the once great Viking king?_ The voice in Mathias's head mocked him, and he scowled at the krone after catching it a last time before putting it into his cloak pocket. A breeze had picked up, and he had to reach up to make sure his hat was in place as a sea of black and red surrounded him. People used to fear him, and he had everything, _everything_. But what did that matter? Today was today, and he just had to deal with it.

As he was alone, and his country had been pretty quiet, he decided to travel south, just to get some time to himself that didn't consist of just staying cooped up in his house or on his boat all day. He may be a tall, strong Viking, but he had his soft spot and couldn't help but feel better when he saw the serene countryside of the various nations that were close to his own. As Mathias looked around, he found himself in a field with tall, green grass, looking like a sea with the constant breeze making the tips of the blades look like waves. Mathias's thoughts traveled back to the sea, and he allowed himself to sit down in the sea, letting himself get lost in his dreamworld.

* * *

Elizaveta shot her eyes open after sleeping for what felt like about five minutes - she was going through the same feeling when someone was wide awake and suddenly, they're about to fall asleep. She swept her hands across her eyes in an attempt to stimulate her eyelids to remain open. To her, for a nation to fall asleep in a wide open area meant that her land and people were open for any other nation to call dibs on.

Her sixth sense seemed to tingle for a moment - Elizaveta felt someone nearby. She thought that her ears caught soft crunches and just _slightly_ harsher bristling than the grass should be doing (or maybe her attentiveness to Roderich's piano playing had trained her ears) and possibly smelled a novel scent in the air (or maybe the various things she cooked for Italy allowed her nose to distinguish the different spices and ingredients she used). It was familiar for sure, but this scent definitely did not belong to Roderich; Gilbert, probably not; Italy, no (unless clinging onto Ludwig changed his scent over his maturing years - she nearly started nosebleeding just thinking about that) - if anything, it was probably just her imagination.

Elizaveta frowned. _I should check, shouldn't I? It's better to be aware with what's around you than not know what's going on at all._ She slowly got onto her elbows and strained to turn around, trying her best to hide herself in case it was a wild animal - not that she was afraid, of course, because Elizaveta knew that she could probably just glare at it and it would run away.

However, despite her keen hearing and smell, she guessed wrong. Through the grass, she was able to spot a nation, whom she hardly ever saw in her life, wearing a rather formal attire of black and red. The spikes of his blonde hair clearly gave himself away.

_Oh, what a surprise,_ Elizaveta thought, _it's Mathias._

* * *

Mathias had closed his eyes, allowing the breeze to ruffle his clothes and tease his hair. He soaked in the scents that surrounded him, for once not smelling the salty water of the seas. He was instead greeted by a warm and sweet smell, one that reminded him of his younger days when he would go rampaging through the forests, leading the other Nordics as they saw who could get back to their boats first.

Without warning, a strong gust of wind met Mathias, causing to open his eyes suddenly as he felt his hat being torn off. He watched it dance in the wind before setting after it, a struggle that probably lasted about five minutes. The wind seemed to tease Mathias, just keeping his hat out of reach and sending him deeper into the sea of grass, his coat loudly rustling. He was finally able to latch onto it again, and decided that in order to avoid _that_ ordeal, to put his hat away for now.

_Really, I can never get a bre-_. Mathias perked up. He thought he could see someone-or something-in the grass not to far off. He cautiously fixed the cuffs of his coat and patted it down at the sides. _Have I wandered into dangerous territory?_ Not that anything was too dangerous for him. After all, he was the Viking king.

* * *

In response to Mathias discovering her, Elizaveta twisted the rest of her body so that she was on her knees as well, and straightened up her elbows it get a better view of the nation in front of her; she noticed that he still had that muscular, potent body frame, which she assumed that he has had since the beginning of his Viking years. This didn't impress Elizaveta, though; after all, she was a Hun, and when you put a Viking and a Hun together...

Realizing that the way she was kneeling wasn't so lady-like, Elizaveta rose to her feet and patted her lime maid dress to tidy herself up a bit. _I may as well say hi to him, at least. Way to represent your country, Elizaveta..._ She automatically switched from her dominant Hun attitude to her kind, womanly demeanor and gave Mathias another glance before prodding over the grass to get to the Nordic.

* * *

Mathias blinked as he saw a slim yet muscular build of..._Elizaveta_? His eyes had been well trained from his Viking days, and there was no doubt that the now approaching figure was the Hun, even though he hadn't seen her in quite a long time.

Bracing himself, as he had heard rumors of what the seemingly kind nation could do, he stayed put, not sure if he should go any further into this territory that wasn't his. Mathias couldn't help but feel awe as Elizaveta approached. She was one of very few females in the area, yet she was probably the strongest. That was something they shared in common-their barbarian days.

Mathias nodded to the brunette. "Why, hello, Elizaveta. Long time no see."

* * *

Elizaveta halted at a few paces' distance to not pop Mathias' bubble of space. She reiterated to herself that standing too close to another nation could suggest making a threat. She, too, realized that, even while standing, Mathias was still rather tall while sitting. It made her ponder whether she was shrinking or whether he really was that tall.

Elizaveta, cocking her head slightly to her right, smiled charmingly and replied with a somewhat forced (yet so real and so genuine after so much practice) feminine voice, "Hello, Mathias. Long time no see, indeed...what brings you here?"

She wasn't bothered by Mathias' presence on her land at all; after all, he was peacefully sitting in this field when she had spotted him and really didn't look as if he meant any harm. Still, Elizaveta found it strange for him to come for any reason, but would become distressed if he arrived for any political reason. She already dealt enough with that back with Roderich - any more, she could explode. Elizaveta quietly took a breath. _I should really try to keep myself calm, or else letting it out on Mathias could cause more trouble than necessary..._

* * *

Mathias let himself relax at the sound of Elizaveta's first few words, but still kept a polite posture. _Good, she's not annoyed I'm here or anything. _

"Ah..." He let out a soft chuckle. "Actually, I just decided to get away from the sea for a while. The other Nordics are all off on their own doing their own thing. So I just started heading south and well...ended up here." He didn't have to lift his gaze to meet Elizaveta's by much, due to his height. "I'm sorry if I was intruding on anything. I can leave if you want. You look a bit tired. . ." Mathias quickly bit his tongue. He had turned the conversation casual way too quickly. Realizing it rude to continue sitting, he quickly got up, brushing off anything that had attached to his coat. He brushed back some of his hair with a gloved hand.  
_Why is that I just can't ever start a proper conversation with anyone?_

* * *

"Oh, I see," Elizaveta replied with some interest. Though, she admitted to herself that it was still surprising to see him here, and alone at that. Wouldn't he just stay with the other Nordics, no matter what they were doing? _I guess I should just put that thought aside. Mathias may get sad if I ask about it._

She silently breathed when she noticed Mathias hover much above her. I'm shrinking, she convinced herself. I'm definitely shrinking. After realizing that a long pause had passed over the two, Elizaveta perked and looked up at Mathias. "Well, I guess if you have nothing to do - or so it seems - I may as well stay with you. I'm not doing anything important either." _More like I really don't want to go back to that madness-filled world back at Roderich's...even though he probably will wonder where I am, eventually. _

She had not once thought of this as a date, nor would she want to make it one.

* * *

Mathias lowered his gaze now to meet Elizaveta's eyes. He tried not to stand up too straight, realizing the height difference between them. He let out a laugh and grinned at her. _Dammit why am I so awkward in these situations._

"That's awfully kind of you. Anyone else would probably tell me to screw off." He looked around the field, the breeze still constant and tugging at his coat. "Where is this, anyway? It seems mighty peaceful." He couldn't help but notice that something seemed to be tangled in Elizaveta's hair, but decided to wait before pointing it out.

* * *

Elizaveta, with her Hun instincts inside of her, caught Mathias slouching. She pouted on the inside, but just dealt with it as if it was nothing. Just to make the atmosphere less awkward, she chuckled back before turning to scan the windy field, thinking about Mathias' question.

"It's always peaceful whenever I come here," Elizaveta replied, her voice now not faking its tone but wasn't so different either. Her honesty drained out through her mouth. "I come here whenever I'm not feeling so well, and this place always lifts up my mood somehow. Recently, Roderich has been involved in so many conflicts and he hasn't been so well that I seem to..."

Immediately, Elizaveta's hand covered her lips; she had said too much, and that was unlike of her to share such information with a nation she wasn't close to. "I-I'm sorry. Ignore what I said. You're just about a kilometer away from my home, if you're that curious." She purposely had to stray away from that topic - it was just too...uncomfortable to talk about. Plus, Elizaveta's temper could erupt just from reminding herself about that, and when her temper gets out of hand, things worse than vital region invading happens.

* * *

Mathias blinked. Elizaveta's tone of voice had slightly changed when she started talking about Roderich, so it must have been pretty serious. He noticed the slight distressed look in her eye, but for the sake of keeping the conversation going, ignored what she said completely. Besides, he didn't care much for what happened in the South-he was too busy worrying about the Nordic and Baltic nations to really consider anything else.

"Wow. So you must come here pretty often if it's that close to your house?" Mathias placed his hands in his coat pockets, swaying slightly side to side. It then struck him how terrible that sounded. "I-I mean, that you can come to a peaceful place, y'know, not that you have a ton of issues or anything..." _Gah!_. Mathias just shut his mouth before saying anymore. _Why do I end up doing this to myself all the time?_ He let out an exasperated sigh. This wasn't like him. He must look like a complete pansy, destroying the legendary image. He passed a gloved hand through his blonde hair once more, averting his gaze from Elizaveta's.

* * *

"Oh, um," Elizaveta began, somewhat startled by Mathias' reply, "yes, I do come here often. But it doesn't necessarily mean that I'm always free from trouble." She sighed audibly this time; now she was just too worried about Roderich to just stand there with a random Nordic nation and do nothing. Or was she excessively worrying? She guessed so - _Don't let your weak side show. _

Elizaveta noticed that her Hun side was really getting to her. _Once every few minutes, I'm thinking about military etiquette. This isn't right, this isn't even close to war, it's just - a friendly reunion._ She turned back to Mathias, easily returning to her composed self. "A-Anyways, I guess we should head off, unless you want to stay here?" She took one last glance at the colorful grassland, as if to enjoy the view once more before leaving.

* * *

Mathias sensed and could see the distressed signals emitting from Elizaveta. _Man, whatever's going down at Roderich's must be pretty bad...That or maybe she just feels awkward around me. _

He blinked. He hadn't actually expected her to invite him to her house. He gladly accepted the invitation, laughing and smiling at the Hun. "I think I've had my fair share of greenery for the day. But..." He paused, trying to word his next question carefully. "Are you sure? Don't feel forced or anything, you know, to invite me over." This wasn't like him at all. He would have happily marched over to her house, plopped down and had some beer and good ole' Hungarian food to eat, but he couldn't help but feel that strange vibe coming from Elizaveta.

* * *

Elizaveta enjoyed hearing Mathias' smile-accompanied laughter; never had Roderich done that in his life - or she never witnessed it herself, which is a major loss for her if it ever happened - and she began to wish that Roderich had a bit more of Mathias' personality. "No, it's fine. Don't worry about it; please, come this way." Still completely oblivious to what sits in her hair aside from the flowers that she always wears, Elizaveta stepped aside and walked past him, retracing what were Mathias' steps until she went off on a different tangent in the road, heading towards her house.

As she walked, she prayed to God that she wouldn't lose her temper. 


	3. Chapter 2

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 2**

Mathias followed Elizaveta, though his eyes could not get off of the tangle of leaves and twigs that sit in her hair. He wasn't sure if he should point it out, or if it would be better to ignore it and let her find it herself.

He first took off his outer coat, seeing that Hungary was a much warmer place than Denmark during this time of year, and draped it over his shoulder with one hand. "Uhm...uh...Elizaveta?" If she responded, he'd point out what was in her hair. If not, he would let it be and not bring it up again.

* * *

Elizaveta first turned around in response to Mathias' call. That was probably the first time he had used her name, well, ever. (To be honest, it definitely wasn't as stimulating as the first time Roderich called out her name.) Before replying, she couldn't help but to examine Mathias' new appearance without his coat; she saw much more of his muscular build then, yet was still not impressed. Though, Elizaveta did admit to herself that he was good looking. _...Well, pretty much every nation is good looking in some way, right?_

"Yes, what is it?" her motherly voice chirped out, her eyes giving that curious gleam.

* * *

Mathias couldn't help but notice and catch his breath the way Elizaveta's hair and hips moved as she turned around, and he really couldn't blame Roderich for being so close with her. While her body was slim and contained ever-so-attractive womanly curves, it wasn't hard to stop the muscles that rippled throughout her body either.  
_Man, what am I doing. She probably thinks I'm some weak little thing. Time to get a bit more assertive!_

"Oh...you...have something in your hair." He noticed it was in an area that would be hard for Elizaveta to get rid of the mess herself. "Uh...if you don't mind?" He made a motion to signify that he could get it out for her, but didn't move much closer in case she would rather _not_ have the strange Viking touching her hair.

* * *

"Oh, I do?" Her hand moved up to her hair, but upon seeing Mathias' hand motion, she lowered her arm, nodding to show approval that he could remove whatever was in her hair out of it. On the meanwhile, Elizaveta occupied herself with her own thoughts: _Isn't Mathias more...of a troublemaker? I believe that he does pick on the other nations. He's acting pretty strange right now..._ She made eye contact with his bright blue eyes, trying to read his expression. Rather successful, Elizaveta did make out that he was feeling out of place and awkward, confirming her assumptions.

* * *

"Uh, yes..." Mathias draped the coat around his shoulders as he used both hands to pull out the tangle of leaves and twigs, trying his best not to pull too hard on Elizaveta's hair. After a few minutes of struggling, he was finally able to get out most of it. He felt some of his normal self coming back and laughed.  
"Geez, where did you fall asleep to get this stuff in your hair?" Mathias didn't realize how close he was to Elizaveta's body and had to stop himself from blushing (or smirking, for that matter) when a strong gust of wind rustled their clothing, allowing Mathias to feel the ripples of Elizaveta's dress against his bare arms.

* * *

Luckily, she wasn't in a rush to get anywhere, so Elizaveta waited patiently for him to remove the twigs. The Hun watched him from the corner of her eyes, just in case he did anything strange; she noticed in particular that his hands were being extra careful, as if Mathias had the belief that hurting a woman was a sin. _He should know better than that, though. _

His laughter became music to her ears once more. "Thank you," she said, smiling. However, Elizaveta's smile curled into a frown at Mathias' question, and she twitched when he had approached closely; again, her Hun instincts kicked in and took a step away from the Nordic, in hopes that he would think that she did that to stop her dress from tickling him. Her hands crept along her thighs, gently suppressing her dress. She was too focused on keeping her dress down (and keeping her own personal space bubble from popping) to detect Mathias' blush.

* * *

"No problem." Mathias replied with his usual joyous tone. He noticed the Hun's frown at his question and her subtle movement away from him, and mentally kicked himself. _She seems to be a bit touchy today...being myself is probably going to end our diplomatic relations._ He hoped that she had only moved away to stop her dress from fluttering too high and took a step away from Elizaveta himself, looking away and coughing into his gloved hand as his face turned back to its normal shade.

"It sure is windy here...almost as much as it can be on a good day on the seas." Mathias returned to his stance of carrying his coat over one shoulder, his other hand pocketed in his blood-rust shade pant's pocket. He quickly changed subjects to avoid a prolonged awkward silence, which he always hated.  
"Have you ever been to sea? I know you're terribly good with horses, but as now you're set so far inland..." Mathias let himself trail off, turning to Elizaveta with a curious look.

* * *

Elizaveta raised her hand to the right side of her face to see if the flower that adorned her hair was still there. Upon feeling soft flower petals, relief flooded her. _Good, it's still there._ Her hand lowered next to her hip again as she turned to look at the Danish man to respond to him. "I've been to the seas only once or twice, but it certainly was nice to visit..." Elizaveta closed her eyes for a moment to recall that memory - she was with Roderich and Feliciano at that time. The wind there was much like the wind in the grasslands they were just in a moment ago. A few seconds later, Elizaveta uncovered her green eyes, returning his blue stare. "I'd imagine that you go there all the time; your land is surrounded the seas almost everywhere, am I right?" She took another step back to signal that she was going to continue walking to her house as they spoke, then eventually started walking without Mathias' approval.

* * *

Mathias instantly followed, making sure to keep the space between the two of them wide enough that the Hun wouldn't think he was getting up in her space. He couldn't help but smile at how..._peaceful_...she had looked when recalling her memories of the sea.  
"Indeed, it is surrounded." He swung his coat to drape it over the other shoulder, changing hands.  
"Eh, I'm a Viking, what else do you expect?" He continued, letting out another laugh. He wasn't called the happiest nation for nothing. "Seafood, potatoes and bread make up my diet!"  
As they walked, Mathias glanced around. It still felt strange to smell the sweet scent of the forestland without having it tinted by the salty small of the sea. But talking about the sea had made him think of the other Nordics, and he couldn't help but scowl at the ground as they continued walking.

* * *

Elizaveta let out a soft chuckle to Mathias' inquiry. She knew that he was pretty much boasting or advertising himself - but as a Hun, _nothing_ (...well, except Kiku's BL doujinshi) got to her. _...And potatoes?_ An image of Ludwig and Gilbert popped up into her head, which then reminded her of Roderich's problems, and suddenly aroused her stress once more; her fist clenched tightly. _Elizaveta, not now. Stay calm - relax._ She held her breath for a moment, then sighed quietly.

Every minute or so during their walk, Elizaveta glanced back to check on the Nordic, just know if he had randomly disappeared or if he had collapsed to the ground or something. He didn't look like his usual self then: the strained, knitted eyebrows of his told her that he wasn't in the greatest mood. Thinking that the best thing to do was leave him alone, she continued on to her house, only hearing their boots tapping along the stones beneath them, the wind, and nature's sounds.

As Elizaveta's home came into view, she decided to reexamine it to make sure that it was ready to allow a guest in - it was a small but cozy appearing house, surrounded by a vast number of flowers, bringing life and color to it. Elizaveta, though, pointed out a detail that made her home the slightest bit different. A white envelope was sitting on her porch - she knew exactly who it was that sent her that letter, since she only knew of one person who did that. The Hungarian planned to pick it off of the ground before Mathias read the return address.

* * *

Mathias was too preoccupied to notice Elizaveta's distress. _Berwald, that jackass, he and Tino better...and Norway, what's with that guy ditching me all the time?_ The Dane continued to rant inside his mind, his own fist that was thrust into his pocket clenching tightly enough that his knuckled had probably turned white. But he was wearing gloves, so it wouldn't have been noticeable anyway.

While he had glanced up every now and then to make sure that the shadow he was following was indeed the Hungarian's, he hadn't noticed that the house had come into view. _If I keep this up, I might as well just go on a raid._ The Viking tried to calm himself, trying his best to forget about the Nordics and slowly running his fingers through his blonde hair, eyes closed momentarily. When he opened them again, his light blue eyes made contact with the...dare he think it, _cute_ little house that must belong to the Hun.

* * *

Elizaveta paced herself faster, feeling anxious about the letter that was waiting for her. She knelt down to retrieve it, glanced at Mathias (who, luckily, seemed quite preoccupied), then scanned the envelope with her eyes. The name "Elizaveta" had been written neatly by a person she had known for too wonderfully yet painfully long, and happily enough, there was no return address. The addresser and and addressee knew too well to even bother writing addresses on their letters.

"Roderich," she whispered, raspingly, painfully, nostalgically.

Elizaveta stood back up, choosing to read through the letter later. She took yet another look at Mathias, who seemed rather dumb struck. She could read his face so easily. "Don't judge a book by its cover," she told him, her voice nearly back to normal. Her door swept open welcomely as Elizaveta strode into her home, and waited for the Viking to come in.

* * *

Mathias smirked at Elizaveta's comment. He noticed her clutching a white envelope, one that must have been left at her door. He didn't think much on it and slowly strode up to the door.  
"I never got that saying. One time when I was on a raid, I saw this book and the illustration of the cover was _terrible_ and old-looking, and sure enough I tried reading it and it was _terrible_ and old-smelling. And that's not the only counterexample I've seen!"  
He was glad that though the house was small, the entrance way was quite large, which meant he didn't have to lean to enter, though out of instinct he did slightly lean anyway. He inwardly chuckled as he remembered the time Berwald, the only one taller than him, had almost ran into the top frame of a doorway when Tino had burnt himself in the kitchen and had cried for help.  
"Well, _Fr_ø_ken_ Elizaveta, this is quite a nice house you have."

* * *

Elizaveta sighed. Mathias' true personality was showing now - it reminded her too much of Gilbert, yet at the same time, he was still completely different from that idiot. _At least I won't have to deal with this man so often, if I ever get into a fight with him._

Watching Mathias come in and unnecessarily bending down, Elizaveta burst out into a hearty laughter. So being tall wasn't the greatest thing in the world! Sure, one could show their dominance and strength over another with that height, as well as show off how nice of a body she or he had - _Heck, Mathias has one of the best bodies out of all the boys in Europe_, Elizaveta told herself silently, almost giving away a smile - but one could get tons of head injuries with that height.

Elizaveta gestured with her head at the nearby opening a bit down the hallway, telling Mathias to go on ahead in. "Make yourself at home. The first room to your right is the living room and kitchen." She then stared at Mathias' boots. "...Actually, do you mind removing your boots?"

* * *

Mathias grinned upon hearing the Hun's laughter. It was filled with such warmth...warmth that he hadn't felt in a while. Though he enjoyed his height it could get troublesome sometimes, especially if surrounded by much shorter nations. Still, he often took pride of his seeming dominance over others. _After all, I am the King._

The Viking's eyes followed Elizaveta's motion, taking a glance through the opening. He turned back to her, not surprised by her request. "Oh, right, of course." He looked for a place to sit, then removed his long, black boots, setting them to the side of the door. Looking down at himself, he couldn't but be amused at how he in his red and black (including black socks that were now showing) seemed out of place in the Hungarian's quaint, countryside-esque house.  
Mathias carefully stood back up, stretching as he did so. "Oh, is there a place to put my coat and hat?"

* * *

"There's a hanger in the living room, so you can put those there." Elizaveta, amazingly, was still working on getting her second boot off - not that she was having trouble, but she was trying to kill time so that she could read Roderich's letter while Mathias was distracted by her house's interior.

Already in the right position to take a look at Mathias' feet, she noticed how big they were. They didn't smell, either. _Good; for a Viking, at least he takes care of his hygiene._ However, she did smell something soaking into the air of her house - Mathias' scent, which was very distinct compared to the scents of other nations. It was rather pleasing to whiff, actually. She could definitely live with that, but not like she was in love with his scent either...

* * *

Mathias glanced at the Hun and nodded. "Okay, will do." He turned and went through the opening. Just as Elizaveta said, the living room was to the right. The coat hanger was near the enterance, where he hung his coat and his hat. He noticed another hat adorned the hanger, and took it to be Elizaveta's. _She sure keeps this place tidy._ He slowly walked around the living room, looking at the various objects adorning the walls and shelves. The sweet smell of the Hun was found everywhere, even though many of the items he saw were from around the world.

_Wait._ Something caught Mathias' attention. Nestled on the mantelpiece of the fireplace, a finely crafted wooden model of a longship. Mathias recognized it as one of his own-longships belonged to the Vikings-and remembered he had given it to Elizaveta as a gift quite a long time back. He looked closer and, sure enough, it was his own handiwork. It was during one of the meetings that was organized amongst the European nations. _How long ago was that meeting?_ From what he recalled, it was during a time that many still wore armor of their nation, as he could remember wearing his own Viking-stylized attire.

* * *

Immediately, Elizaveta snatched the letter back into her hands and opened the envelope quietly but hastily. She unfolded the paper - which looked so perfectly folded in thirds, as expected of Roderich - and quickly skimmed through the cursive handwriting.

_Dear Elizaveta,_

_Please forgive me if this causes any inconvenience, but I would like to visit sometime this evening to formally discuss about the...issues that we have been dealing with lately. If you don't mind, I would like to spend supper time with you as well._

_Excuse my ramble, but speaking out of heart, I have visited your home several times these days, but you were always absent; I'm worried that my problems have gotten to you, so please allow me to come over this evening to compensate for what I have caused._

_Sincerely,  
Roderich Edelstein_

Elizaveta frowned. She already had Mathias over at her home - she _invited_ him over. Surely, after knowing him for years and years, Rodoerich would want to spend time with her alone. And yes, Roderich and his problems had been worrying her, but...how strange would it be to have this supposedly egoistic Nordic in the home while Roderich was visiting? And another man in the house, alone with her? How would Roderich view this?

She folded the paper back again, setting the letter and envelope down on the chair she was sitting on. _I...don't know what to do._ Elizaveta kicked off her other boot, but figured that she should place it neatly next to her other one. After fixing it, Elizaveta rushed into the living room, catching sight of Mathias examining the longship. She walked over next to Mathias, having forgotten about Roderich's letter, and peered at the longship herself. The past struck her for a moment. "...You gave that to me, didn't you?"

* * *

Mathias almost jumped when he heard Elizaveta's voice. He was lost in his own world and hadn't even noticed her walking into the room. _Woah, keep your cool. You're letting too many things get to you. _

He turned to Elizaveta and grinned. "I did. Man, that was a long time ago. I-" Mathias quickly clutched his stomach as it let out a low growling noise. _Dammit! I forgot I haven't eaten since early this morning..._ He felt stupid and couldn't help but feel a bit rude, hoping he wouldn't give the Hun the impression that he only accepted the invitation to come over as a way of getting free food.

He laughed. "Sorry about that. Bad stomach, don't you know not to sound like that in front of a lady!" He scowled down at his stomach. Though he said it jokingly, he meant it seriously.

* * *

Elizaveta's eyes widened slightly in response to Mathias' hunger signal. A giggle escaped from her mouth and she answered, "No worries! I'll cook something for you quickly." She started to head off to the kitchen.

And speaking of cooking, Roderich's letter struck her.

Elizaveta literally stopped walking for a moment - questions haunted in her mind. What was she to do? Call Roderich and say that she can't come, which might make him even more worried for her and their relationship? Ask Mathias out of nowhere to leave and come back another time?

The Hun sighed. She, at the same time, did and didn't want to talk to Roderich. Though, most problems involving others were solved when she spoke with the person who caused of the problem. _Maybe I'll ask Mathias what I should do, but then again, I really don't want to talk to him about our conflicts..._ Elizaveta finally got herself to start moving again, and prepared a meal for the both of them.

* * *

_A/N:_

_A lot of research was done for this segment of the roleplay - for Hungary's part, at least. We've read that Hungarians tend to be very expressive and talk about themselves and their love lives a lot, whether they're talking to a stranger or a friend, but we sort of strayed away from that here. orz_

_If you decided to read this giant part of the roleplay/fanfiction, you may have noticed that some Danish or Hungarian words have been thrown in there. c: We've already corrected some mistakes, but if there are any more, please let us know!_


	4. Chapter 3

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 3**

* * *

Mathias sighed in relief. "Thanks. Sorry to put you through the trouble!" _Should I help? _  
He wandered towards the kitchen, noticing few differences between the Hun's and his own. He wasn't sure if he should continue to be formal or just slip into casual conversation and language.

He glanced at Elizaveta, and could feel some distress emitting from her. His thoughts went back to what she had said earlier about Roderich, and then there was that letter. _Something must be up... _

"Do you need any help?" He decided to ask. He wasn't the world's greatest chef, but he wasn't bad, either. Plus, if it meant making more conversation, it would be good for both of them.

* * *

Elizaveta wondered what sorts of food the Danish ate, hoping that she could cook something familiar to his country rather than her own. Quickly, she changed her mind; she thought it would be better for her to cook something from her own country, rather than have him eat something familiar but tasted disgusting to him. _Ah, maybe he should try some_ pörkölt-

Her train of thoughts snapped when Mathias had offered himself to help her. She looked at him and insisted, "No, no! I'll be fine. Just enjoy yourself here." _While you still can_, her thoughts continued, feeling incredibly bad and debating about what she should do. Her hands instinctively dug through her refrigerator, as if they knew the ingredients to _prklt_, and set the various foods on the counter - all while Elizaveta was forming a headache from worrying too much about Roderich.

* * *

Mathias was surprised by the speed and swiftness of the Hun as she moved around the kitchen. She seemed to be cooking a Hungarian dish, which was a relief as he was tired of Nordic food. He couldn't help but laugh.  
"In all honesty, I'll feel awkward just standing here." He rolled up his sleeves up to his elbows as he continued, "Besides, I hate to be a burden." _Especially since you seemed stressed out. _

The Viking couldn't help but notice Elizaveta's slightly distracted state. To signify his stubornnness, he washed his hands and turned to her. "So, what can I do?"

* * *

Elizaveta, too, was surprised that he was rolling up his sleeves, suggesting that he was going to help out anyways. _I guess that his Viking side is getting to him, just as my Hun side wants to work independently to show off..._ She smiled half-heartedly, murmuring a "thank you", and reached for the bag of meat in the hodgepodge of ingredients. Elizaveta handed it to him and said as she stealthily and quietly opened a cabinet next to her legs with her foot , "Here, you can cook this to your liking. There should be a pan in this cabinet down here."

On the meanwhile, Elizaveta prepared the broth, cutting up onions, capsicum, and tomatoes. "I hope you don't mind spicy food," she warned him. _He should be fine with the spice. He_ is _a Viking_, she attempted to amused herself.

* * *

Mathias was amused with the Hun's flexibility around the kitchen. He took the bag of meat and nodded, having to bend over to look into the cabinet. _She probably made me get it myself on purpose_, he mused, remembering how she found him and his height problems so hilarious from before. Sure enough, there was a pan that seemed of good size to cook the meat in. He took it out and settled it on the stove, twisting and turning knobs to get it to the desired settings. He was used to cooking for himself, especially after Berwald and Tino had moved out of his house.

As the onions that Elizaveta was using got to him, he rubbed his eyes with his forearm. He then turned to the Hun with a grin. "Mind spicy food? I _love_ it. What do you take me for, a pansy?"

* * *

Elizaveta naturally and audibly scowled upon hearing Mathias' last word. A second later, she realized that it was terribly unwomanly to have done such a thing and whispered a guilty "sorry". But she couldn't help it; Gilbert (and probably many other nations) loved teasing Roderich by calling him a pansy, but Elizaveta knew (rather, hoped) that Mathias wasn't trying to mention her ex-husband, so she tried to set it aside.

Elizaveta got out another pan for herself and walked over to the stove to stand beside Mathias, sauting the chopped foods and adding water to Mathias' frying pan. Once the ingredients to the broth were fried, she strode across the kitchen to add in the final broth ingredients (including - oh, say, twice to three times the amount of paprika necessary just to test Mathias' spicy range) and came back to Mathias to dump the completed broth into Mathias' pan as well. She deemed it too awkward to ask Mathias to do such a simple thing like that when she was already standing right there.

"Once the meat is cooked, it's ready to eat," Elizaveta told him, crossing the kitchen floor once more to retrieve a proper plate and utensils for him.

* * *

Mathias raised an eyebrow at the Hungarian after she muttered her "sorry", not seeing why she really needed to apologize. Still, her behavior sparked his curiosity. It was then that he remembered that Elizaveta had often associated the word "pansy" with Roderich, as many nations teased the Austrian relentlessly due to his living style and weakness in battles. He mentally kicked himself once again. _I wouldn't really have cared but...she already seems to be in a tough spot with that wimp. _

The Viking watched Elizaveta pour the rest of the ingredients into the pan, taking a little step to the side to offer her more space to maneuver. Due to his lack of knowledge of Hungarian dishes, he didn't even notice the additions the Hun was making to the meal. "How long does it take to cook?" Heslightly leaned over to watch the pan, the smell of the cooking _prklt_ filling his nostrils.

* * *

Elizaveta set down the bowl next on the counter beside the stove. "Usually, it takes an hour or two," she told him, feeling a little bad for cooking something improperly, "but I manipulated it a bit, so it should take about ten minutes." Her nose could smell the pan absolutely _reeking_ of paprika; she was glad that Mathias didn't realize that. However, if Mathias had got some kind of stomach ache from too much of the spice, then Elizaveta would definitely feel bad. _That would set off a bad first impression...or he could take it as an ingredient of typical Hungarian cuisine_, she thought carefully.

The Hun reached for more of the same ingredients to make herself _prklt_, but her stomach didn't seem to be in the greatest mood to eat. She sighed - Roderich _really_ was getting to her too much. If she had to consult Mathias about that problem, now would be the time, but somehow couldn't summon up the courage to ask him. Reluctantly, Elizaveta grabbed the leftover ingredients and put them back into the refrigerator. She ended up lost in her thoughts and had her elbows on the counter and head in her hands, staring at the covered, long unused piano that sat in the living room.

* * *

"Ten minutes, huh?" He leaned against the counter lightly as the smell of the dish spread throughout the kitchen and slowly seeped into the rest of the house. Mathias watched the Hungarian's moves, noticing her still distracted look and that she hadn't prepared enough of the dish for the both of them. Following her gaze, he saw the piano and understood. _Well, it's not like we're doing anything else..._

"Elizaveta?" He gently pushed himself away from the counter, still keeping his distance from where the Hun was standing. "Are you alright?"

* * *

Elizaveta, snapping out of her dazed look, immediately slid her elbows off of the table and turned around. The way he called her name pricked her - there was a feeling behind it, a feeling she hasn't sensed even in Roderich for so long that she couldn't ignore or deny it. Her heart sank and her eyes dulled into worry; she didn't care anymore about what she wanted to keep away from Mathias and let herself spill out.

"Roderich..." She paused. "Well, Roderich has been having a rough time lately. I get so worried about him that I get involved in his conflicts as well, only so that I could help him, but now he's concerned about my welfare because I've been...stressed and out there." Her eyes gazed through the window in the kitchen, facing the direction where the grassy field was.

"He's coming over this evening to talk to me. I don't think I can stop him." Elizaveta realized how much the sentence she just uttered revealed her weakness and was detrimental to her status as a Hun. She was seriously going to regret that later. "I'm certain that he wants us to talk privately, but that means you have to leave. I even invited you over, so I would feel terrible to have to ask you to leave. I don't know..." Her voice began to crack. "I'm not sure what I should do."

* * *

Mathias instantly noticed the change in the Hungarian's eyes, the warmth and spunk gone. He stood quietly, letting her spill out her worries, trying his best to not let her suddenly weakened and vulnerable voice get to him. The Viking followed Elizaveta's gaze to the window, then rested back on her. Now that he really looked at her, she _did_ seem a bit disheveled-she had slight bags under her eyes, her hair was just a tad unkempt, and her dress didn't seem to be completely ironed.

_So that's what's been bothering her,_ he thought. _Looks like I'm not the only one having issues._

Mathias smiled sympathetically at the Hun, trying to hide the stubborn, Viking side of him and appear diplomatic. "Elizaveta, don't worry about it. I can go-Roderich is obviously concerned, and if you haven't seen him in a while, it may be best to meet with him. I don't want to be an extra burden when it looks like you have enough going on." Deciding that right now she needed comfort more than anything, he quickly grabbed a mug and heated up some water, mixing in a generous amount of honey and cinnamon. He handed the mug to her, placing one hand on her right shoulder, and gave it a little squeeze.  
"Here, drink this. It should soothe you."

* * *

Elizaveta stared at the mug in surprise, not because he just grabbed one out of nowhere, but because of his character and sympathy. A Viking, out of all people, wouldn't do this. Perhaps Mathias was an exception - yet with this sort of personality, how was he so renowned as a Viking? How did he live as one? She was definitely curious to see what he was like then.

Elizaveta glanced at the shoulder the man had gripped. A melancholy smile then swept across her face as she accepted the beverage Mathias made, drinking a moderate amount from it. The sweet, sugary taste flooded her mouth and pleasingly overwhelmed her taste buds, already getting rid of the headache that clung to her. After lowering the cup, she looked at Mathias and murmured, "Thank you."

While viewing his eyes, it hit her that he seemed to be bothered by something as well. She squinted slightly into the deep blue irises to confirm her thoughts, then thought over what she was to do. "Mathias, I'll ask Roderich if you can stay." She highly doubted that Roderich would approve of that, but knew that it wouldn't hurt to try.

* * *

Mathias could almost literally _feel_ the Hun analyzing him and his actions. He was showing too much of his soft side, but damn it, he couldn't help it. As renowned as he was for being a jerk at times, he could relate to the Hun's problems. Besides, he had tried his best suppress his Viking side, though if he ever got angry . . .

"No problem." He nodded, removing his hand from her shoulder, putting it in one pocket instead. His eyes had fixated on the Hungarian's green ones, who he noticed was looking into his own. He blinked after he suggestion, surprised that she would actually be okay with someone else in the house when her ex-husband-_though they still seem to have feelings for each other_-was over.

He shifted his weight to his heels, letting out a sigh. "Really, Elizaveta, I don't want to make things awkward for you." _Or me._

* * *

Elizaveta frowned, even almost pouting. "I don't want you travelling all the way down here for such a short time and then returning to your country. Doesn't it take some many hours to get down here, too? That would definitely be a waste of time." Remembering that the _prklt_ was still cooking, she walked over to it and poked at the meat sitting in the broth. Elizaveta picked up the pan and carefully poured it into the bowl that had been sitting idly on the counter. As the broth was transferred over, the smell of paprika was so strong that her nose started to sting. _Oh, no, please don't die from the paprika_, she thought exaggeratedly. At this rate, she was definitely going to set off a bad first impression on Mathias - first, she has to ask him to leave (or perhaps not), then she adds excess spice into his food.

Elizaveta turned around as she snatched utensils from the drawer and continued, "Mathias, I insist. I'll figure something out." Her arms levered forward to hand him the bowl of prklt, also adding a determined expression onto her face.

* * *

Mathias raised an eyebrow at Elizaveta. _Damn, she's stubborn._ But he couldn't help but grin knowing that he was too. He took the bowl carefully from her hands, without looking away from her face. _So_, he mused, _she's starting to show her Hun side, it seems._ He took a whiff of the dish the Hungarian had presented him with, and his nose tingled with the smell of spice. Oh joy.

"_Elizaveta_, please. As a Viking I've traveled much, _much_ further than this with barely any food and carrying a giant axe. You've already been quite hospitable. I _really_ don't want to be a reason to cause any more trouble, really." He let out a little laugh. He was known for being a troublemaker, so hearing himself speak those very words seemed, well, hypocritical. He shook his head and carefully poked at the _prklt_, waiting for it to cool a bit before taking a taste.

* * *

Elizaveta thought that it was a coincidence that, right when she was wondering about Mathias' Viking side, he began to show it. The rumors about him being incredibly bossy and stubborn didn't seem as bad as they were to her - it was pretty tolerable, actually. Either that, or he was just being too much of a gentleman at this very moment.

"I understand that very well, Mathias - you know that I traveled as much as you did and with as much trouble, or even more, in my younger days." Elizaveta felt that she was nearly _challenging_ him when it came to talking about their barbaric lives, though it was unintentional. Her hand reached over to the stove to turn it off, then wandered to another part of the kitchen to grab the mug. She took another few gulps. "Still, you shouldn't strain yourself and relax for a while. You're of no trouble at all and I enjoy your company. Please, take a seat."

* * *

"Even more?" A smirk played on the Viking's lips. "You may have traveled far, but by horse, right? I've had to face raging days at the sea." He laughed warmly to emphasis his jesting tone, hoping the Hun wouldn't take it as a serious challenge, as lovely as it would be to see her angry. _Not now...maybe when things get better for her._

He let out another sigh. "Really, I feel like I am. But if you insist, _Frken_ Elizaveta." He performed an exaggerated bow and went to take a seat, poking a bit more at the Hungarian dish before deciding to take a bite. At first, it wasn't too bad, but after a few seconds his whole mouth felt the heat from the spice of the broth. He gulped it down, the fire now spreading down his throat. He coughed a bit, and was met by the spicy aftertaste.

By reflex, he went to loosen his tie and unbutton the first one or two buttons of his shirt. He looked at the Hungarian, tears nearly at his eyes but with an ever-wide grin on his face.  
"Could I have some water, please? This is delicious, by the way. Never thought Hungarians ate this much spice-or has your cuisine been influence by the Thai and Indians?" _She totally put more spice on purpose_, he thought, and nearly laughed at the subtle challenge the Hun had placed on him. _I'm a Viking, I don't back down that quickly._

* * *

Elizaveta grinned, though not as widely as she would, before taking one final swallow of Mathias' drink. She set down the mug next to the sink. "Yes, that's correct. But I warn you - you shouldn't underestimate me." Elizaveta heard her own voice changing a bit while telling him that and spoke to herself once again, _No, Elizaveta, not here._

She released a laugh as Mathias bowed - _A gentleman he is._ Her eyes followed his move to the table, waiting to be both amused and scared about the Danish's reaction to her cooking. Elizaveta skipped a heartbeat when a bit of her food disappeared into his mouth, and probably even two more beats were missing as she watched him partially unclothe himself. It took her a few seconds longer than usual to answer his request.

"Oh, yes-" - those two words came out a little strangely - "-and thank you! We can handle pretty much anything." She winked with an accompanying smile, suggesting a bit of exaggeration (or boasting), then got a glass cup and filled it with water. To see him enjoy her food and not dying from it relieved her greatly, but she was aware that she should wait until the food digested in his body before being completely relieved. When the Hungarian returned to Mathias to hand him his desired water, she sat down in the chair across from him, watching Mathias..._enjoy_...his spicy food, and hoped to talk with him a little while longer.

* * *

Mathias watched Elizaveta with amusement after her delayed reply. "Oh, of _course_. Nothing big and bad enough ever for a Hun!" He jested. He took the glass from her, saying a quick "thank you" before taking a gulp. The cold liquid chilled the fire that had started in his throat. He sighed with satisfaction and continued eating the dish, taking an occasional gulp of water every now and then. His eyes were watering, but he ignored it, with a grin on his face every time he looked up at the Hungarian girl. _Damn, how much spice did she put in this?_ It didn't matter-he was going to down it all, even though he knew the consequences that would follow later on in the day. But he had been through worse. _A Viking never backs down from a challenge. _

He finished off the last morsel and finished off the water. He let out a loud sigh and quickly placed a gloved hand over his mouth as a small belch escaped. "Sorry." Again, a grin on his face and laughter in his voice, "That was quite good," _and hurt like hell_, "Thank you for that wonderful meal. Next time I'm in the mood for something to liven up my taste buds in the area I'll be sure to come by." He licked his lips, even though it stung, and then quickly dabbed his mouth with a napkin.

* * *

Elizaveta lightly shook her head at Mathias' teasing. She reciprocated a smile every time he glanced up at her. Sure, she was very amused to see water building up in his eyes - sometimes she thought that Mathias would eventually start crying from so much tears, but he proved himself to be a real man for being able to put up with the spice. (Elizaveta wasn't sure if she could handle that much paprika either.) She even watched and calculated to see if he ran out of water before finishing her cooking; he had passed that test too, and that impressed her. But every now and then, she started fidgeting or rattled slightly in fear that something dramatic would happen. Now she had to wait for _the_ climax - the food digestion - to pass, and if all's well, it ends well.

Elizaveta was startled by his burp, but then chuckled happily. "I'm glad to hear that. Perhaps you can eat it again the next time you come," she replied, highly suggesting that he should take up another spicy food challenge for her own amusement. As she took his plate and washed it up, Elizaveta peered up at a clock hanging above her. _He should be here anytime soon_, she thought with concern.

* * *

_Of course, so you can put double the spice in it._ But Mathias wasn't one to deny a challenge in any form, and responded with his usual grin. "Perhaps I will." He amused himself with the thought of how they could be talking so nicely to each other yet underneath it all mocking the other. _Another trait Vikings and Huns share, I suppose. _

He liked her laugh. Maybe it was just because she was a girl and he didn't get to hang around the female nations all too often. _Because I'm stuck with those bastards._ His eyebrows furrowed for a moment as he thought about the other Nordics, specifically Berwald. But he shook his head. _No, not now._

When the Dane looked up at the Hungarian again, he saw her looking at the clock. "So-shall I depart?"

* * *

While drying the plate, Elizaveta lowered her head to send Mathias a look of surprise with her wide eyes and stopped rubbing the plate with a towel. She felt terrible that he was already suggesting to leave so soon, since he had stayed for such a short amount of time. _Who knows, he may have other things to do...maybe he doesn't even want to be here._ Finally, she said, "Well...if you say so, then. I'm sorry about this, Mathias - if only Roderich had told me in advance that he was coming..." Her lips were then at a loss for words.

She turned back to the plate she was holding and her voice added with a hint of guilt, "Please take care. I really enjoyed your company." The parting words she had just said were the words that she didn't want to say. But she had to act like an adult, not a child, and just let him go.

_And please don't get an upset stomach by the time your food digests._

* * *

Mathias flinched at the tone of her voice. She actually sounded...sad? _No, she's just trying to be nice, I'm sure._ Still, he couldn't help but feel a little bad..._wait, why am I feeling bad? I haven't done anything wrong._

He got up from the table and got his coat and hat off of the hanger, again draping the coat over his shoulder with one hand as it was still too warm for it. He walked up to the Hungarian, smiling. "It's okay-really, stop feeling bad about it." He didn't like that look in her eyes. _Maybe...no, I should leave._ "Thank you once again for inviting me over and for the food. I'll be sure to visit again soon, and of course if you ever come up north feel free to contact me." He walked to the door and put on his boots, which was always a struggle due to their length. Once he finally had both boots properly on, he got back up, turning to the Hungarian one last time before they departed.

"It was a pleasure to spend time with you today, _Fr_ø_ken_ Elizaveta." He tipped his hat to her as he said it.

* * *

Elizaveta smiled again, nodded, and watched him leave her home. _I should visit him sometime, maybe to get a look at his place. He's not too bad of a guy at all...why would the other nations look at him so differently?_ She sat down at the table that Mathias dined on, waiting for Roderich's arrival and thinking about what would happen when he came.

Which was also when Roderich slammed open Elizaveta's door before Mathias could walk out.

He had heard Mathias' deep voice while standing on Elizaveta's porch and reaching out to press her doorbell; his face displayed an expression of a deadly, serious one, perhaps even on the verge of committing murder. His arm pointed straight at Mathias' broad body, his hand wielding a gun not set to safe mode. Roderich's dark purple eyes narrowed sharply upon seeing this man in his ex-wife's home and quickly scanned what he could see from where he was standing. No Elizaveta in his sight.

"Mathias Køhler," Roderich uttered menacingly, still somehow able to sound proper and elite. "A Nordic should not have any relations or issues regarding Elizaveta. Out of all places, what are you doing in her very household?"

* * *

_A/N: _  
_Haha, this chapter is much longer than the other two. _ But there's a wonderful cliffhanger here, ehe~ _

_From **xNeyu**: Again, you can probably tell that I researched a bit. xD I hope that I was right with the directions for making **pörkölt**. ;u;_

_Now that we reread this, we realized how different the two become in later chapters. We know that characterization gets to many people, but wehope that you guys approve of it because...well, it seems to make the pairing better that way. xD;_


	5. Chapter 4

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 4**

* * *

Before he knew it, Mathias had a gun pointing in his direction. _Just can never escape trouble, can you?_ He smirked.  
"Nice to see you too, Roderich. No need to be so formal." He locked eyes with the Austrian, his own eyes narrowing. He could do a number of things right now to that man, but remembering he was still technically at Elizaveta's house, he refrained.

"I just happened to be in the neighborhood. I bumped into Elizaveta, she invited me over, and now I'm leaving. Do you have a _problem_ with that?" His voice had a chill to it, but not to the point of a murderous tone.

* * *

Roderich sneered at his attitude; he knew well what kind of a person Mathias was, and reiterated, "Invited you over?" There was no way the aristocrat could believe that; the Elizaveta he knew wouldn't invite a bossy, egotistic Viking bastard over. In fact, she would have pummeled him to the ground already, but here he was - in perfect condition. To him, there was something wrong with that, especially if he said he was just leaving Elizaveta's house. Finally, he answered, "Yes, in fact I do have a problem with that. The most _despicable_ and _unruly_ of the five Nordics treading upon a thoughtful and altruistic Hungarian's residency cannot be tolerated. With that tone of voice, you speak absolutely of lies. _What have you done to Elizaveta?_"

Elizaveta, on the meanwhile, was deep in her thoughts about Roderich - so deep that she nearly fell asleep right when she sat down at the table. However, she was startled to hear the sound of something being slammed. _Maybe Mathias hit his head in the doorframe...or did he already collapse from that paprika?_ Worried (for the most trivial things at the moment), Elizaveta stood up and quickly paced over to the hallway. Instead of seeing a Dane muttering to himself how painful it was to run into a doorframe or a black body laying face down on the floor, she saw Roderich, threatening Mathias with a gun in his hand.

Her eyes widened in great fear. _No._

* * *

_Oh, Roderich, be happy we're at your girlfriend's house._ The Dane let out a laugh, his composure calm, not fearing the Austrian with the gun. He doubt he would shoot him here, of all places.  
"Oh Roderich, really, you flatter me." His voice mocking, the Dane's eyes didn't leave the Austrian's-one wrong move, Austria could suddenly snap. After all, he hadn't seen the usually quiet and..._cowardly_ man with a gun in his hand ever before.

"I haven't done anything to her. Go ahead and look inside." Mathias combed through his blonde hair with a gloved hand and sighed. "And since when was it polite to barge in on a house with a gun like that? Honestly, Roderich, I thought you knew better." _This is going to be fun._

* * *

Roderich sent a glare at the Dane; he highly looked down upon Mathias for mocking him in the same manner that other nations did. "As a close friend of Elizaveta's, I have the complete right to question your presence here and see if she is alright. Who would have known that you did harm before I came in?"

He then caught Elizaveta appear in the hallway, yet still kept his arm elevated. Elizaveta first frighteningly stared at Roderich for his actions, then her expression transformed into a grave one; immediately, she walked over to the two men and stepped in front of Mathias, setting a hand on Roderich's gun.

"Roderich, please," she said, in a unique tone used particularly for her ex-husband. Elizaveta's lime green eyes was fixed upon Roderich's dark ones, indicating that she was serious yet concerned about the potential violence that could occur here. He did not seem convinced one bit.

"Do you realize who you just admitted into your home, Elizaveta?" Roderich questioned. "Mathias - _Denmark_ - the boastful, arrogant, infamous Viking. Are you cognizant of what he could have done to you?"

Elizaveta answered in defense, "I'm very well aware. You know me - I was once a Hun and I would have defended myself with no problem if he did anything, but he didn't cause anything at all." Her voice began to crescendo. "Roderich, you already have plenty of problems for yourself, and now you're going to add even _more_ burdens onto your shoulder because you disapprove of a friendly visit?"

Roderich was shocked by her answer, leaving only silence to be heard.

* * *

Mathias was a bit surprised when he saw the Hungarian come rushing to his defense. But why should he be? After all, he had told Roderich the truth-he had just come for a friendly visit.  
"Don't worry, _Herr_ Edelstein, I wouldn't hurt a hair on her head. I honestly don't see what would give you such an idea." Again, his tone took on a sinister air as a smirk played ever-widening on his lips. He nodded to Elizaveta.

"Thank you. I was worried this guy would try to maul me or something." Mathias' gaze went back to the Austrian, this time a devilish spark dancing in his pupils.  
"Of course, what else do I expect from an aristocrat. You all go around in your lace and ruffles and feel the need to look down on anyone who you find less than you." Then, he dangerously leaned towards Roderich, his eyes now level with the shorter Austrian's. "I may be an arrogant, boastful, infamous Viking-as flattering as those words are-but at least I can hold up a fight without having to cover up my fear with elitism." He realized how much hate those words may earn him both from the Hungarian and the Austrian, but he didn't care. This was too much fun. _Been a while since I've had a lovely confrontation like this._  
Despite it all, he was still trying to hide the majority of his Viking side, though his eyes had already darkened so that they reflected the ancient legends about this Viking's ferocity.

* * *

Elizaveta twisted around to peer up over a foot's length to witness Mathias' face after he claimed that he wouldn't injure her. His smirk mentally stabbed her; something was different, a little too different. His personality had definitely altered in some sort of way, his eyes shone at a strange hue, and his voice was deadly. Elizaveta knew, for sure, that this was the Viking Mathias was back then. It reminded her greatly of her own life as a Hun - how much had she and Mathias changed since?

Mathias' words of ridicule about Roderich ripped right through her - a fire burned within her soul, but luckily, she was able to hold off her instinct of immediately and physically taking down the Dane, yet her eyes narrowed warily at him. Just as Roderich entered rudely and described Mathias cruelly, Mathias had the right to shoot back the same sort of words. The irony - just as she feared that she would not give a good impression, Mathias had much that could set off a bad impression to _her_.

Roderich frowned, and eventually sighed; Elizaveta was in well condition - physically, at least - which told him that Mathias spoke of the truth. The Hungarian, who was able to understand Roderich's demeanor from the corner of her eyes, lowered the Austrian's arm without turning away from Mathias. As Elizaveta said, it was too risky to start a scene here and he decided to take a step back, distancing himself from the Viking. Now calm and composed, Roderich uttered, "I'm sorry, Elizaveta." He shot a glance at Mathias, as if to send the message 'I won't forgive you', as he bowed down and took Elizaveta's hand to deliver a gentle kiss upon it. Straightening back up, Roderich made eye contact with Elizaveta, whom he was able to finally get her undivided attention. "If you would stop by sometime, that would perhaps be better and less chaotic compared to what has happened today." Elizaveta nodded, in which Roderich took as a signal to leave.

The Hungarian worriedly watched her former lover depart. _He's ruining his reputation with everyone he meets._ She returned to stare at Mathias to not only question if he was still going to leave, but also examine his true character.

* * *

Mathias could feel the Hungarian's gaze, but kept his eyes straight ahead at Roderich. He nearly frowned when the Austrian stepped back. So soon? But he was actually quite glad-he wasn't in the mood to get into a fight, at least not with him.  
The Dane met Roderich's glance with a small smile, barely noticeable. _Love you too_, he mentally replied, _Hope to see you soon._ When the Austrian took Elizaveta's hand, he couldn't help but roll his eyes at Roderich's ability to act like a gentleman to a girl right after barging in on her home, threatening a guest-_her_ guest-with a gun..._What a sap._

He was also glad that the Austrian decided to leave, muttering a barely audible "Fucking aristocrat" under his breath. Mathias let out a sigh. _Great. This is awkward._ What was he supposed to do? Apologize to Elizaveta, though he himself did nothing wrong? just leave? He hated being in situations like this. _She probably thinks I'm a bit of a jerk_, he thought, _after the comments I made._ So much for trying to be as polite and diplomatic as possible earlier-he just hoped that now the Hungarian wouldn't turn on him for insulting her former spouse, as much as he believed the Austrian deserved it. His eyes were starting to return to their normal light shade of blue, but the trace of the once great Viking could still be seen in them. Feeling Elizaveta's gaze once again upon him, he turned to look down at her.  
"Is he always that defensive?"

* * *

Elizaveta, with her keen senses, caught Mathias' invective; it highly tempted her to punch Mathias right now, or throw him, or just - _kill_ him. He had unleashed the Hun inside of her, but the other side of her told her not to do anything that would cause pandemonium, so all that came out of her was a flinch of her body.

Her now deep green eyes narrowed sharply as the Viking questioned Roderich's attitude. All she wanted to do was sneer at him then walk away, but Elizaveta closed her eyes to calm herself down. She was able to mutter without shouting, "He's just concerned about me, that's all." Her voice was deeper than she would have liked it to be, but it was too late to change that. She knew that if, in the future, the Hun inside her and the Viking buried in Mathias were unmasked, absolute hell would take over. _World War III_, she titled it.

The awkwardness of the situation got to her. What was she to do now? Roderich had pretty much cancelled his plans with her that night because of this incident, and now she was free for the rest of the day. Mathias was already there with her, but inviting him to dinner as well was just too strange. But for some reason, her lungs were desperate for the cool, fresh, and relieving air outside; her legs seemed to move on their own and took Elizaveta back outside. She noticed that Roderich was already out of sight.

"So Mathias," Elizaveta started, barely sounding any different than before and not turning around to face him, "are you going to leave or are you staying?"

* * *

Mathias noticed Elizaveta's flinch and easily read what lay beneath her reply to his question. _She's trying hard...though it would be interesting to see her Hun side._ He suppressed the thought, knowing what trouble that would bring. After all, in the past there were points where they both had been feared by all, and of course it was for good reason. They had changed since then, people would think, but had they really? Was it all a mask? He still felt the Viking inside him and still thought of himself as one, and he felt sure that the Hungarian felt the same way about her Hun days.

His eyes followed her, but he stayed put. Mathias was surprised by her question, not sure whether to take it as a "What are you still doing here?" or a "Well, turns out you can stay after all". He shrugged, even though she wasn't looking at him, and let out a laugh, trying to lighten the mood.

"I really don't want to give you any more trouble than I already have. I seem to have a knack for attracting it...quite often." His voice changed with the last two words-quieter, not filled with his usual humor. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, again trying to push away the thoughts of the various issues going on with the Nordics.

* * *

Elizaveta finally decided to face Mathias again, recognizing yet another tweak in his personality. She thought about his "troubles" here - honestly, she believed he didn't do any wrong doing. It was just that Roderich was unnecessarily worried because a powerful Nordic nation was in her house, and-

An idea suddenly knocked on her, one that seemed to enlighten her greatly. A pleasant expression returned to her face and her motherly, gentle voice took over, as if she had forgotten about what just happened, "Why don't I come over to your home? An eye for an eye." She smiled as the demonic side of her disappeared with a light breeze. "But unless you're busy or anything, I won't mind if I can't." Elizaveta raised her bright eyes to the sky; it was evening, and if Mathias allowed her to visit, then she would probably have to stay overnight over there. _It's unsafe for a woman to travel alone in the dark_, she thought carefully.

* * *

Mathias blinked. He wondered if he himself had changed that quickly between his deadly and good-natured sides. He figured he must, but still had to give himself a couple of seconds to see that the Hungarian had regained her friendly aura, not giving a single thought to what had taken place earlier. What was actually surprising, however, was her question. _Is she seriously asking that?_

It felt strange just thinking about it-he didn't have people visit his house that often, besides the Nordics and Baltic states. _Hell_, he thought, _I rarely have a_ girl _visit._ Sure, he had invited Elizaveta to visit whenever she wanted, but he didn't know it would be that soon. His eyes quickly glanced at the evening sky, wondering if the Hungarian had taken into account the time. _But..._

"Seriously?" He responded with a laugh. "To be honest I have nothing important to do-that's how I bumped into you in the first place, remember?" His usual smile decorated his face. "If you want to, I'm okay with that."  
The Dane just hoped that upon seeing his house, which was practically a castle especially in comparison to the Hungarian's, she wouldn't think he was trying to show off. 'It's up to you." He nodded to Elizaveta, wondering what her final decision would be.

* * *

Elizaveta returned a smile and nodded in confirmation, "I'm willing to go." She, again, had forgotten about the rest of the Nordics, and was still surprised to hear that he had nothing to do when he could always stay with the others. What had happened to them? Again, the Hungarian told her not to ask about it; after Roderich's visit, she really didn't want Mathias' dark side to come out of its hiding place again, if that subject could really stir him.

Elizaveta stepped out of the doorway to motion for Mathias to exit and lead the way, also smiling again while keeping her eyes fixed upon his. _I don't even remember the last time I came over, or if I even came at all._

* * *

Mathias followed Elizaveta out, walking down the porch. "Well then, follow me, _Frken_ Hdervry." He bowed slightly, motioning for her to come forward. He was glad to have some company, especially since he had been ignored as of late, only conflicts with Canada and Poland surfacing now and then. He looked at the sky again. He wasn't too sure how long it was going to take to get back to his own home, but figured it would be better to just start walking. As night slowly approached, the wind had gotten chilly and was still blowing steadily. He looked at Elizaveta, who was only wearing her dress, and wondered if she would get cold.

"So," He tried to start a conversation, finding silence too awkward. "What's a fun night for a Hungarian?"

* * *

Elizaveta flashed yet another smile at Mathias' politeness. _He's so much like Roderich, yet at the same time, not. Mathias has...a playful side of him._ She first walked back into her home, quickly slipped on her shoes, and then came back outside, locking her front door. Stepping off of her doorstep, the Hungarian followed the Dane to his home, rather excited to see it. She closed her eyes and took a deep, refreshing breath before setting off on their walk to Mathias' residence.

As time passed, the cold air eventually began to cling onto Elizaveta's warm skin and she began to shiver now and then, even if she was walking at a moderate pace beside Mathias. Instinctively, her hands slid up her arms, but tried her best not to show how the weather was affecting her. She hated displaying her weak side - especially if she were to represent herself to another nation.

Elizaveta faced the inquirer and said, "Oh, not a lot. Nothing much happens at night. If anything, probably just sight seeing or talking to other Hungarians about their love lives." She tried her best to not think about Roderich, but remembering the good days with him certainly made her happy.

* * *

Mathias laughed lightly, turning to the Hungarian as they walked. "Love lives, huh? I think I remember something about Hungarians being romantics." He found that especially amusing considering Elizaveta's Hun background. "And is that really it? No parties, no festivals, no concerts, nothing?" He found that so different from Danish nightlife, usually filled with live music from jazz to rock at the cafes and pubs, and an active club-_and sex_, he mused-life.

He noticed the Hungarian's signs that she was getting cold. Knowing she wouldn't be one to admit it, he took his coat and draped it over her shoulders. "You're going to get sick if you don't." He answered her objection ahead of time, putting his hands into his pants' pockets as they continued walking.

* * *

The young nation began to blush lightly at Mathias' remark about romance, but then was able to quickly return to her normal skin color before the Dane could notice. Then Elizaveta nodded. "We're peaceful - most festivals and events occur during the daytime, anyways." She recalled her capital, Budapest, and its well-known beauty; she was proud to own such a place.

Elizaveta was shocked to feel Mathias' heavy black coat rest on her shoulders as another blush swept onto her cheeks. The coat was already warm as it was, since Mathias had been holding it for so long, and it draped down almost to the ground because of her short height. _He reads me too well...or I just show myself as plain as day._ "And what about you, won't you get sick?" Elizaveta retorted, examining his body (though trying to refrain herself from dirty thoughts).

* * *

The Dane wondered if Hungary was one of the few places with such a quiet nightlife. _It must be a nice place just to escape to a while..._ He then had to keep himself from laughing about his though, as he had done exactly that, even though unintentionally.

He did however let out a laugh at Elizaveta's inquiry. "I'm used to the cold. Besides, I'm wearing pants and a long-sleeved shirt. You're wearing a dress. I'll be fine." He stole a glance at her. _She looks so cute._ It reminded him of when Valdimar would run around in Eirik's clothes when they were little, but Eirik's clothes were always big on him, and-

_No. Stop thinking about them already._ He shook his head, trying to physically dislodge the thought. Mathias looked straight ahead, looking for a sign that they were approaching his house.

* * *

Elizaveta let a "pfft" escape from her mouth. _Just watch -_ he'll _be the one who gets sick._ But he did have a point: he lived next to the seas after all, and surely some wind couldn't get at him so easily. Though she was used to a blast of wind due to horse back riding, her winds were still different from the winds he experienced.

She noticed Mathias shaking his head and crooked her eyebrows downward, a little worried - but she had forgotten about that once she caught a glimpse of Mathias' mighty castle. "Impressive," she uttered, though not sounding all that surprised. Elizaveta found it strange that he wasn't living in Greenland, where he could have had an even _bigger_ castle to dwell in. _I guess he wants to stick to what he has had for so long._ "What do you even do with such a large home like that?"

* * *

Mathias smiled at the Hun, puffing out his chest a little, jokingly. "She's a beauty, isn't she?" He started walking down the hill that led to the path to his home. A decorative metal fence lay ahead on the now stone pathway. He tensed a bit at her question, but continued walking.

"Well, a lot of people used to live there. So it worked then." Coming a bit closer, Mathias could see that only the front door lights had been left on. "Now they're all gone. I live alone except for when Eirik and sometimes Valdimar decide to stay for a bit. " He let out another laugh before turning to the Hun with a devilish grin. "It's also great for scary stories."

* * *

Elizaveta scanned her surroundings while ambling down the slopes of his land - the area was so green that she was rather awed by it, and wondered how beautiful it would be to see it in the morning. It would definitely be much more impressive than seeing that field that she stayed in earlier.

"Oh, I see..." Elizaveta pondered on his words for a moment. If she recalled correctly, Eirik and Valdimar were best friends, and Berwald and Tino were close too (oh, god, did she nosebleed a lot when she saw those two together). That left Mathias to be the odd one out of the group. Now she understood why he was so lonely. The Hun remembered the time when the nations around her kept mocking her, and only Roderich was there to defend her...

A laugh escaped from her when he told her that his castle was good for scary stories; the Hun wasn't so scared about ghosts and such (or was she? She didn't think that she was ever in a situation where she could have become scared of the dark or ghosts...) "We'll see if you can get me scared," Elizaveta told him, smiling.

* * *

"I'll take that as a challenge." Denmark responded, laughing. He opened the gate that opened to the pathway to his door, stepping aside. "After you, _Frken_ Elizaveta." He motioned for her to go through. He closed the gate after both entered and went up to the door, fumbling with the lock for a bit before finally getting it open, cursing under his breath. _I seriously need to replace these century old things. _

The doors opened up to a grand foyer, with a massive yet elegant chandelier hanging from the high roof. It had a very Viking-like atmosphere, with artwork of Norse legends and several models of different types of ships and boats. High on a wall hung several swords, decoratively. Mathias again stepped to the side, beckoning the Hungarian in.

* * *

_A/N:_

_As you can see, **xNeyu** took over **Roderich/Austria**. The two of us will be taking on a lot more characters in later chapters (and we mean a lot), so expect those chapters to be very long. xD_

_We decided to use more fanon names to make up for Norway's and Iceland's lack of them. Norway will be called **Eirik Haraldson** and Iceland **Valdimar Haraldson**, with the same last name because they're brothers. We were about to go with Valdi for Iceland, but figured that it would be nicer as a nickname. c:_

_We know that Austria's entrance was very short, perhaps even a little disappointing. xD;; Don't worry though, much more exciting things come along in later chapters. c:_

_Also, if you haven't noticed, we'll be uploading a chapter every day (unless we happen to slow down in our roleplaying or get busy)._

_But we will seriously love you guys if you read all the way until the end. ;w;_

ehehe, you get a nice peek into Denmark's Viking side here. That's what we meant about them becoming different, hehe. 3


	6. Chapter 5

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 5**

* * *

As the door opened, the scent she had smelled on Mathias earlier flooded her nostrils, but was the odor was much stronger here than on Mathias himself. Luckily, she wasn't too overwhelmed by the smell, and even analyzed it: _Friendly and homely, but has many hints to the Viking years._ She was amused to watch Mathias struggle with a lock - she thought that he should have just torn it off, but maybe that was a little too showy.

Once the deeper parts of his castle had been revealed to her, even more of Mathias' scent cling to her nose to the point that she was convinced that she would have his aroma for some time if she stayed overnight. Her eyes meticulously examined the room in awe, now giving her a growing curiosity about Mathias' Viking past. The ship models reminded her of the longboat model back in her home; the artwork of her own paintings of the Huns; and the atmosphere of her Hun life. Elizaveta wished she could display her past in her own home, but at the same time, decided to keep her house relatively normal. The Hungarian exhaled heavily from the amazement she had just received.

"I feel like a Viking now," she laughed. "You must miss these days." Elizaveta walked up to a sword, which had reminded her of her own weapon and could easily take it out of its place and swing it around, yet resisted the urge for the sake of respect. She turned to Mathias. "You don't mind if I stay here overnight, do you?"

* * *

"I do miss them...though the whole place isn't like this. My room is pretty contemporary, as are various others..." Mathias had watched how awestruck the Hungarian had been and couldn't help but feel a bit smug. He lit some more lights and turned to Elizaveta. "Sure, it's not like I'm running low on space." He let out another laugh.

Looking at the time, he realized dinner would probably be a good idea. "Guess we should have dinner. In the mood for anything in particular?" He took the coat off of Elizaveta and put it on the coat track along with his hat. He took off his tie as well, rubbing his neck. "The good thing about this place is that there is a house inside of a house-there is the castle as a whole, but there is this small section that is like a normal house, so it makes it look like the rest is just added on space." Even with conversation, the place seemed eerily quiet. "Mind if I put on some music?"

* * *

Elizaveta was a little surprised to hear that his room was different than this historical room. At least he keeps himself up to date. Her pupils were somewhat startled by the lights and took their time to adjust to the new settings. Finally, she said with a chuckle, "Alright. And I'm up for anything; surprises are the best." _Hopefully he won't add a ton of spice into my food... _

She cocked her eyebrow, intrigued by the 'house in a house' note. Elizaveta could imagine that the reason behind that was to show off what the Vikings had left, but kept that to herself. "And I don't mind music," Elizaveta answered. She could definitely imagine Mathias blasting music in the castle - and it could even blast so much that the music would amplify throughout the halls and then Berwald and Mathias' other neighbors would become irritated from hearing his Danish music. Elizaveta laughed on the inside, making sure that the Viking wouldn't notice an out-of-the-blue moment. "I'm guessing that you cook and eat inside your house, not here in the castle...?" Though, she could picture the dining room of the castle to be _gorgeous_. "Oh, and I'd like to see the rest of your castle, too."

* * *

As if reading Elizaveta's mind, Mathias grinned. "I like making the entryway like this because, hey, first impressions are everything."  
He nodded to her reply about dinner, thinking what he himself was in the mood for. _As tempting as it is...I'll be nice and let her off for the spice thing...for now._

"Good. In the mood for anything in particular? I mainly have rock and jazz, but I have some pop and epic classical stuff if you want." He held up various CDs to further signify the range of genres.

"And yeah, usually the rest of the castle is used for parties, and stuff...if you want, we can dine in the castle dining hall. And sure-I'll take you on a tour after dinner."  
As he waited for Elizaveta's response about music, he motioned for her to sit down on a bench sofa."Danish tradition is to offer a _velkomstdrik_-a welcome drink-but I don't know if you drink alcohol or not..?"

* * *

Elizaveta found herself examining the entryway again and couldn't help but to smile. _Of course, as expected of a "great" Viking,_ she thought with sarcasm. Thinking about what type of music to listen to, she shook her head. "I prefer classical," an answer she knew that Mathias wouldn't be surprised from hearing, "but I really don't mind anything."

Elizaveta perked when offered to eat in the castle's dining hall. She let out a light laugh and said, "No thanks. I'd rather dine in there when all the seats are filled; it makes you feel better, since then the castle wouldn't be as empty and the sense of loneliness disappears." The Hun saw the Viking's beckon to sit down on the sofa, then walked over to it to settle down. The bench-like sofa felt rather comfortable and thick, but she could tell that many Vikings had said down on this before.

"You don't think I drink alcohol?" Elizaveta laughed, a little shocked. Wine was her specialty, too, but wasn't too sure if hers was up to par with Francis'... "If I'm not wrong, you drink beer, correct? I usually drink wine, if anything..."

* * *

"Well then, classical it is." Mathias started to play Niels Gade and Carl Nielsen, some of the finest composers his country had to offer to the classical music scene. _Why am I not surprised,_ he mused. Soon the room and hallways of the castle began to flow with the sounds of great orchestras, adding a regal air to the already historical castle. It reminded Mathias of the occasional classical concerts that would be held in his home, one of the few times the castle actually seemed full of life.

Mathias walked to a cabinet with legs and sides intricately carved to show images of dragons, elves, and other mythological creatures from Norse legends. "Yeah, eating in the castle dining hall with fewer than ten or fifteen people can actually be pretty spooky." He opened the cabinet and took out several bottles, all different types of beverages. Turning to the Hungarian with his usual grin, he laughed.

"I guess the more proper question was if you are a heavy drinker or not. And yes, I do drink beer but that's usually not offered as _velkomstdrik_. You can have a martini or cocktail, but if you would rather have wine, I have some kir as well as champagne." He put a bottle of kir on the table, which was white wine with blackcurrant liquour, along with a bottle of champagne and martini mixers. "Plenty of choice, have your pick."

The Dane looked outside the window again, where the full moon had decided to settle in perfect view. _It still feels weird,_ he thought, _having someone over at this time, not talking about diplomatic relations._ Mathias couldn't recall the last time he had just had a friendly get together with another nation besides the Nordic and Baltic states, who he saw all the time anyway. He turned to the Hun again, realizing he should get quick to making the actual dinner.  
"Do you like seafood?"

* * *

Elizaveta smiled while her eyebrows sloped down negatively; she felt bad for suggesting classical now, feeling that it was against Mathias' will, but she guessed that he would enjoy it anyways because - well, it was _his_ music. He has a good reason to listen to any type of Danish music. As the music started playing, she closed her eyes for a moment to absorb the music that rang in her ears: its dynamics, the composition, the instruments...this piece certainly had a boastful air to it, highly hinting the proud life of a Viking. There seemed to be nothing that didn't link to the Danes' Viking age.

Elizaveta, if she paid close attention, heard the echoes of the music travel down the vacant hallways. She enjoyed hearing the amplified music, but sometimes it annoyed her since the same rhythm, notes, and phrase would replay over and over again...Opening her eyes, Elizaveta turned to Mathias, examining the bottles from where she sat. "Mmm, I can be a heavy drinker," Elizaveta answered, rather cautiously. Not being able to decide to pick a bottle, she finally said, "Surprise me."

After a pause, in which Elizaveta decided to listen to the classical piece for another minute, she faced Mathias again. "Ah, no - I haven't tried seafood before, actually. I'm not too fond of it."

* * *

Mathias chuckled, looking at the bottles. "You sure like surprises, huh?" He pondered while looking at the bottles and decided to go with the kir, just because it was a bit different from the usual. _Well, she said she can be heavy drinker..._ The Dane decided to make it into a Cardinal, which replaced the white wine with red wine. He quickly prepared the drink and took out two wine glass, adorned with serpent patterns on the handles.

"Here you are. Enjoy." He handed Elizaveta one of the two glasses, keeping his own to the side. The bench sofa that the Hungarian was sitting on was actually in view of the kitchen through an archway. "Well, seafood takes a while to prepare anyway. But you should really try some Nordic dishes one day-it's our specialty, after all." He laughed again, and then looked at what was available. _Damn, Eirik never ended up going to the store, did he?_ There was no pork left, which was the main Danish meat, but thankfully there was plenty of beef.

"I hope you like pasta and rice. . .and potatoes." He laughed as he got out the ingredients to _millionbf_. He turned on the stove and got various pans and pots out. If it wasn't for the fact that he was making a larger quantity of food, the Dane could easily see this as any other night when he didn't have the others to boss around and order them to make him something to eat. He lit a couple of candles to mask the scent of the food about to be cooked.

* * *

Elizaveta lifted the rim of the cup to her mouth while a dense "mmhmm" vibrated off of the glass. She was a little scared to use the cup - it was so ancient yet so beautiful, but who knew how many mouths this was passed around to...the odor of alcohol replaced Mathias' scent as she took a sample sip - the taste was strong with fruits, vegetables, and spices, but none of those tastes seemed to dominate over the other. Her arm lowered to her lap. "Not bad," she critiqued.

Elizaveta sighed lightly - she disliked the smell of the sea, but she should try his seafood soon just for the sake of respecting him. It seemed even more rude since she was the one who insisted to come over to his house out of curiosity. "Perhaps I'll try seafood next time. And those sound great." _Gilbert_, she scowled in her brain upon thinking of potatoes. Yet, at the same time, she couldn't help but to think of her well raised Ita-chan, who seemed to call out to her in her brain...

Snapping out of her daze, Elizaveta continued to drink out of the wine, evaluating it every time she took a sip, and gradually increased the amount she engulfed to challenge herself. Suddenly, she realized something and stood up. "Would you like some help cooking?" The Hun set down her nearly empty cup of wine and looked beyond the archway into the kitchen.

* * *

Mathias nodded. "Well, you don't _have_ to try any, but who knows, maybe you'll like something." While they were talking he had already started cooking the pasta and rice, which would be done in a few minutes. He started slicing up the beef and prepared to stir fry them when Elizaveta offered to help.

"No, I'm used to making this dish. I'll be fine-just go ahead and relax. It should be done in a few minutes." He realized that this might turn into the stubborn-fest they had earlier in the day, but he didn't want the Hungarian to work when she had come out of curiosity to see his Viking home. He glanced at Elizaveta, noticing the nearly empty glass."Did you like the cardinal?" He realized he himself hadn't had a taste of it yet and took a swig before continuing to prepare the beef.

* * *

Elizaveta frowned. _Not being of any help, again..._ she thought, recalling her past, especially when Roderich was defending her. The smell of pasta was nostalgic, as she cooked that many times for Feliciano; the rice familiar; and the beef mouth watering. Elizaveta completed her glass of cardinal before walking up beside Mathias, taking a peek into what he was cooking. "Oh, yes, I enjoyed the cardinal! Thank you," she politely yet happily told him, following his movements with her eyes. Silence came upon her, with the exception of the classical music, and saw how quiet Mathias was while cooking. _Something really is on his mind._ Then she asked him lowly, as if not to cause a ruckus or something serious, "Is this what you do everyday? Not just cooking, I mean, but..."

* * *

Mathias glanced at Elizaveta and smiled. "I'm glad you enjoyed it." He began stir-frying the beef, setting aside the now ready pasta and rice. As the beef was fried, he began cutting them up into tiny pieces. He get out pre-ready mashed potatoes and warmed them up, lost in his thoughts as his hands moved around, his body used to this routine. He momentarily paused when Elizaveta asked him the question that he didn't like the answer to. _When you look at it that way..._

The Dane shrugged, lightly chuckling. "Do what? Go around, take a walk, come home, blast music and eat and drink? Eh, I guess you could say that." He realized he wasn't doing a very good job at keeping his tone playful. "I mean, I'll go to the sea, see if I can catch one of the other Northern nations, whatever a nation usually does..." He trailed off, poking at the almost ready meat, not sure what to say at that point.

* * *

Elizaveta sensed the change in Mathias again, this time catching it from his run-on sentences. She frowned and her eyes glinted with worry; his routine did sound peaceful, but that wasn't like him. What about the other Nordics - _what about the other Nordics_ who had kept him so happy, if she remembered accurately? She further delved into the topic, taking the risk, in an attempt to lighten him up by trying to resolve his problems. "Mathias, that doesn't sound like you. You're so playful, yet here you are, living alone in such a giant castle." Her voice was gentle, trying her best to not arouse him. She tried her best not to watch the Nordic jab the meat and kept her eyes on his. Then Elizaveta released the words that would either make or break it: "Is there something wrong with you and Berwald, Tino, Eirik, and Valdimar?"

* * *

Mathias stopped poking at the beef, lowering his hand to rest on the counter-edge. He stared down for a while, remaining silent, only the sound of music and sizzling meat to be heard. _Well, she_ did _tell me about her problems..._  
He let out a sigh. "I wouldn't say there's something wrong, per say..." He turned off the stove, beef ready. He removed two plates, quite contemporary in design, and poured rice, pasta, and the beef into both, mixing them up.

"I don't know how much you know of the Nordics. Berwald and Tino used to live here, but Berwald and I were constantly getting into fights...some that could turn quite..._violent_..." Mathias stole a quick glance at one of the sword racks, where several dents could be seen. "Then one day he just snapped and left, along with Tino." Of course, he left out all the details, as it was difficult for him to see why Berwald was so against him.

Mathias brought out some _rugbrd_, Danish bread, and scooped the mashed potatoes into each plate. "Then Berwald tried taking Norway away too." He frowned and took a sip from his cardinal. "Norway and I have been childhood friends, but Iceland and he were pretty close too. Then we found out that they were actually brothers, and ever since then they've been hanging out with each other more than ever before."

Mathias brought both plates to the dining table, setting down forks and knives as well. "While I'm still an older brother figure to them all..." He trailed off again, thinking about the way to word it. "Well, I guess you could say we hate each other yet love each other at the same time. We have our internal issues, but if anyone else was to mess with one Nordic nation, we'd all be up in arms to defend right away." He nodded, as if he needed to convince himself that that's how it was. _Though I guess a lot of it is my fault, he though, but I can't change how I am._

He let out a sigh. His chest felt lighter that he had said it outloud, even though he hadn't said everything. Some things were just better to keep private. He motioned for Elizaveta to sit at the dining table.

* * *

Elizaveta attentively listened to him, trailing after him to the dining table and absorbing all of his words. Her heart sank heavily while he told of his anecdote; she could highly relate his troubles with her own past, like when Gilbert used to be best friends with her, then left for a good while, and now was a divorced woman..._They love but hate him at the same time._ It took her a long while to respond to Mathias' motion - even moving into the seat took some time - and she stared into her plate, lost in thought.

Finally, Elizaveta began, "I see." A pause. "Do things eventually get better? I'm guessing that this isn't the first time this happened, but tell me if I'm wrong. I mean, do you and Berwald often find some kind of compromise eventually? If you guys are like this all the time, then I'd imagine that this wouldn't be any trouble at all." Elizaveta gazed upon Mathias' expression, analyzing it once more. Her serious, but not necessarily Hun, side revealed itself. "Your face tells me that you're lonely, every time I look at it."

After a few seconds passed, Elizaveta widened her eyes and stammered, "I-I'm sorry for butting in like that. I'm just wondering why you're not the person I often hear of you to be." Suddenly, a flashback hit her about Roderich's and Mathias' verbal argument earlier that day - she remembered the exact blue shade of Mathias' eyes when he had changed in some sort of way. _Is his true nature his playful self, which I'm not seeing right now, or is there something else to him, just as Roderich said?_ Elizaveta raised a hand to her hand, discovering that a headache was developing.

* * *

Mathias noticed Elizaveta's low motion. He brought a bottle of prepared cardinal to he table, along with some water, his own movements quiet. He listened to her inquiries, and once again paused. _No trouble, sure..._ His eyes widened at her comment. _Lonely? Does it really show that plainly?_ He finally moved again and sat down, across from Elizaveta. He flashed her a small smile.

"It's okay." The Dane leaned back in his chair, letting out another sigh. His eyes narrowed and he looked down at his plate. "It's understandable. And yes, this happens often and there is eventually a compromise, but it can still be..." He trailed off once more, always running out of words to describe the situation. "Well, let's just say that there will always be some strain. The past couple of days some things were brought up again, but otherwise, it's fine." The warmth was gradually coming back into his voice, and he smiled at the Hungarian.

"And of course, there is loneliness..." Mathias almost bit his tongue. A Viking shouldn't be admitting to such feelings, but he slipped. Quickly, he let out a laugh. "But hey, means I have time to myself, to do my own thing." As true as that statement, it didn't fit his personality. Mathias needed to be out and about and doing things, but none of the other northern nations seemed to need him.

* * *

A smile came upon the woman's face as she picked up a small amount of the Danish food with her fork, setting it into her mouth. _He's trying his best to think on the bright side of things. I feel so sorry for him, but at least he's being optimistic. Such are Vikings, I guess - not showing off any weak sides. _

Elizaveta, pretending to have forgotten about their tense conversation, sat up straight from such a pleasant and tasty portion of her food - a variety of foods from different parts of the world never seemed to taste any better together. After taking her time to chew and swallow it, especially to savor the flavor, the Hungarian chirped, "This is delicious! I guess I have to try your seafood after all." She readily reached out to the bottle of cardinal in front of her, but then stopped herself and looked at Mathias.

"I'm sorry; may I? I hope that these bottles aren't too expensive." An idea popped up into her head. "If so, I'll freely give you some of my own wine." She was proud of her wine and actually wanted Mathias to accept her offer, but didn't show too much of her eagerness and simply smiled at the Dane.

* * *

Mathias laughed and couldn't help but sound a bit boastful. "See? I'm glad you like it." He let himself take a few bites from his dish, one his own favorites, and nodded to the Hungarian. After swallowing the mouthful he unintentionally stuff himself with, he waved his hand at the bottle. "Please, feel free. Have as much as you'd like. And don't worry about the cost." He let out another laugh. "Though I wouldn't mind trying some of your wine, even though I am more of a beer person."

He lifted the rim of the wine glass to his mouth, watching the Hungarian before finishing the rest of the drink in one go. "I'll apologize ahead of time-I'm a heavy drinker, so sorry if it looks like I'm having too much." He was glad that the earlier conversation was over. He'd rather not think about the other Nordics.

* * *

Elizaveta was lucky that her conversational tangent worked - she could have pulled one of Mathias' nerves if they kept on talking. She nodded, realizing that she was so prepared to drink because she hasn't done so in a long time (to keep a good impression on Roderich - just in case if he came randomly like he did that day). Elizaveta poured herself another cup and assured him, "I've experienced being around heavy drinkers." _Ludwig, Gilbert, Francis..._ "As long as you don't do anything stupid while you're drunk, then I'm happy." Elizaveta's mood lightened up when Mathias accepted her offer and promised, "I'll bring you a bottle of my wine the next time you or I visit. I bet you'll like it."

I'm curious to see his inner house, she pondered as she quietly took another bite of her food. And his castle. _I'm probably going to be living in my past again, if it's what I imagine it to be._

* * *

Mathias poured himself some more of the drink as well, laughing at Elizaveta's comment. "I'll try, but I'm not making any promises." he jested. He took a sip, nodding. "Aren't we modest? I'm sure I will." The Dane took a few more bites of his food before sitting back, letting himself enjoy the moment. He observed the Hungarian, sitting so peacefully and happily in front of him, and looking almost..._free?_ he thought. It dawned upon him that Roderich must often visit Elizaveta, and possibly often unannounced. But when he thought about it, it was the same between the Nordic nations. After all, they were in the end one big family.

Seeing Elizaveta smile pleased Mathias, and he couldn't help but be the guy he was and inspect her, though he did it in the guise behind his wine glass. _She is quite pretty,_ he commented to himself, _and elegant. Most of the other female nations rely on the "cute" factor...except Natalia..._ Mathias shuddered at the thought of Ivan's younger sibling, whom he would often see when visiting the Baltic states, especially Toris, who he could not for the life of him understand why the Lithuanian had a crush on her.

_She's also strong, and apparently the guys are terrified of her..._ He had to do his best not to laugh at the thought. He knew most of the other male nations, and had also heard of the Hun's terror. He didn't get a chance to see Elizaveta much in her Hun days, but he could remember her more crude language and threatening stance. _And the horses,_ he mused, _she's very good with horses. _

Snapping back into reality, Mathias cleaned off his plate and finished his drink, eating faster than he had meant to. "Do you still want a tour of the place?" He motioned outward, gesturing to the rest of his home and the castle.

* * *

_No promises, huh?_ Then she automatically assumed that Mathias _will_ pull off something idiotic one way or another and started to mentally record Mathias' drinking amount. It couldn't be helped - all the men she knew who have drunk have done something unintelligent: Ludwig would pull off something strange on Feliciano (her photos were her proof), Francis would become sexually aroused, and Gilbert - he needed no explanation.

As Mathias observed her, which she noticed but didn't seemed to dwell upon, Elizaveta took her time to finish her food, hoping that Mathias couldn't become impatient anytime soon. _That's right - I didn't eat lunch, didn't I? Skipping meals again..._ An image of Roderich popped back up to her mind, yet she forced herself to stop worrying over him. _I still have to visit him sometime later. _

Elizaveta sat up when she finished and was surprised to see Mathias already done. Luckily, he had asked that question not too long before her plate had nothing left on it and she responded with a nod. "Of course." The Hungarian got to her feet to signal that she was ready, but then turned around to peer down at her plate. "Oh, I should wash this," she noted, not necessarily talking to the man in front of her. Without asking for Mathias' permission, she headed into the kitchen, washed her plate and utensils, and returned to the dining table in a short moment.

* * *

Mathias blinked, Elizaveta's actions taking a few seconds to register. "Goodness," he got up quickly, his own plate and glass in hand. "You didn't have to do that. You're the _guest_." He laughed and washed his own dishes before rejoining the Hungarian's side. "You can lay off the formalities. Seriously." He stretched, feeling good now that his stomach was full and the drink giving him an uplifting feeling.

"So, what do you want to see first?" He again made a sweeping gesture to the rest of the house. He went to lower the volume of the music. As he did so, he heard a distant rumbling. _Oh great..._ It wasn't rare for the clouds here to give the land with rain. The rumbling came again, this time closer and louder. "Perfect, rain. This sure adds to the spooky feeling." He turned to Elizaveta, smiling, remembering the earlier challenge to give the Hungarian a scare.

* * *

"I'm sorry, Mathias, I can't help it. It was sort of something like a thanks for helping me cook lunch." Elizaveta then gazed upon the spacious castle, not really knowing where to start. She would have liked to just walk around until they covered the entire castle, but figured that it would take hours (especially if they paused here and there to discuss about Viking history).

Elizaveta then caught sight of the dark blue night through the window, barely hearing the trickling of the rain just as Mathias commented about. She chuckled lightly, but was more concerned about something else. _I'll definitely not be going home tonight._ When she thought about it again, it actually didn't matter that she couldn't - she planned to stay in Mathias' home for the night anyways. "It takes more than rain to scare me. Also, I don't have any preference; take me to whatever you want me to see, if you want some kind of good answer."

* * *

Mathias sighed. "If you say so." He followed her gaze to the windows. "Sounds like it won't just be rain, but a full blown thunder storm." Mathias evaluated. The area had been due for one in a while anyway, so he wasn't surprised. He opened a drawer and took out a flashlight, flicking the switch on and off to see if it worked.

_Just in case._ He glanced up at the lights. Though he had a pretty good electric system set up, and most of his energy came from wind than anything, something could go wrong. _Something_ always _goes wrong._ He bit his cheek, then gestured down a hallway. "I can show you the main house later, when we're back. For now, we can see some interesting parts of the castle...or what I find interesting, anyway." He walked to the entry of the long corridor, turning to wait for the Hungarian.

* * *

Elizaveta frowned. She didn't like thunderstorms, even though she hadn't been through one herself - as a person who loved peaceful classical music, thunderstorms was just another version of careless piano playing to her, but much worse. Elizaveta nodded, keeping an eye outside for any light flashes. "That's fine with me." She found herself staring outside the window for too long, then quickly rejoined Mathias at the entryway.

* * *

Mathias noticed the Hun's prolonged stay by the window, and couldn't help but softly laugh. "Don't get many thunderstorms in your area?" He led Elizaveta down the corridor and up a flight of stairs, which led to one of the towers. He pointed at the small window, which was sheltered from raindrops due to an overhang outside the window. "You can see the sea through there. It's raining, so I can't show you the terrace, but it's a nice place to eat breakfast on a clear day." Mathias looked out the window himself, and saw the waves starting to become aggravated, clawing at the shore. _I hope Eirik and Valdimar are okay..._ Judging from the direction of the storm, it had definitely spent some days over the sea and was now heading south to land.

"Now for the real tour." He grinned at the Elizaveta before leaving the tower, descending the flight of stairs, and turning into another corridor. He pushed open double doors to a room even more grand than the entranceway had been. The ceiling was very high, causing even Mathias to have to look completely up to see anything. The walls were covered with tapestries and carvings of various creatures, mainly serpents and dragons, each having a history in Norse mythology. In the center of the circular room lied a large round table, in which five emblems had been engraved, adorned with gems and stones.

Mathias let out a sigh. "This room brings back a lot of memories..."

* * *

"No, I don't. The most we probably get is snow." Elizaveta tailed Mathias and climbed her way up the stairs, noting to herself how narrow the steps were as she did, and stared out the window that appeared before her. Again, she was anticipating a thunderstorm to strike, but the anxiety killed her and gave up waiting for one. Instead, she walked up to the glass to gaze upon the raging sea. Elizaveta didn't stand there for too long and withdrew from the window before the freezing weather seeped through the window to take over her body's warmth, following Mathias once again.

Elizaveta was even more awestruck when Mathias showed her the next area - it was so _grand_. She didn't even think that the Huns were this boastful and show-off-y, but these kinds of things were the proof of success for...well, anyone. Elizaveta stared specifically at the carvings of the vicious mythological creatures, in which her mouth decided to say, "Serpents and dragons...even the Huns didn't deal with these monsters. I can imagine that this would shake your Viking memories." Elizaveta sighed as well; sure, it was nice to live in peace with the other nations, but at the same time, it was just too _fun_ to mess around with others.

* * *

Mathias grinned, puffing out his chest in pride. "Indeed they do. Serpents and dragons are tricky creatures," he pointed to a tapestry, depicting a sea serpent coiled around a longboat. "Being at sea was always dangerous-you never knew when one of those were lurking around." He walked up to the table, resting his hand on it.

"These were and are our Viking emblems-there's mine, of course." He pointed to the one in the center of the arrangement, which looked like the number five side of a die. He took in a deep breath, the smell of the room bringing back a flood of memories. He looked up to Elizaveta. "I'm sure the Huns had to deal with their own dangers, no?" Mathias' deep voice echoed in the giant room, but instead of ringing with metallic loneliness, his voice seemed amplified, filled with warmth and power, as if his voice was reflecting the artifacts present in that very room.

In the distance, he could hear a rumble of thunder, meaning if the storm hadn't hit yet (as they were in an inner room, where it was hard to tell what was going on outside), it sure was going to soon.

* * *

Elizaveta pondered for a moment - fighting serpents and especially dragons on land seemed bad enough, since those massive animals were able to fly and give damage from a far distance. The seas, she imagined, would be a much more difficult setting to fight in, since the boat could be overturned from either the creature or the sea's waves themselves. She was impressed. "I'd like to try to fight one," Elizaveta laughed, though not expecting to ever fight any of these Norse creatures anytime in her life. Plus, she could calculate what sorts of disadvantages she would have against them, since her specialty was within the land range only.

The Hungarian was too distracted with the cravings that she didn't notice the table until Mathias had laid a hand down upon it. She walked up to the piece of furniture to take a closer look and could definitely detect an old smell barely clinging onto the table. She enjoyed hearing Mathias' authoritative voice - that sense of confidence seemed to make her comfortable for some strange reason. "That's right, we had our own issues." _With people, who actually_ have _a decent brain._ "But I'm not here to talk about myself, so go on." Elizaveta hadn't noticed the distant thunderstorm through her own voice and remained calm.

* * *

"Fight one?" Mathias laughed. "That would be an interesting sight to see-a Hun at battle with a sea serpent..." He smiled over the thought, then waved around at the room.  
"Well, you see serpents, you see dragons. Those were mainly the only dangers from animals we had." He walked over to one of the tapestries. "We had issues with other peoples, but most fled at the sight of us." His hand absentmindedly stroked the hilt of sword hung professionally on the wall.

"We've got elves, trolls, and pixies too." He let out another laugh, Norway obviously on his mind. "But the days were rough...I don't carry that axe around for nothing." The Dane stretched again, fatigue slowly creeping up on him, but he pushed the feeling away. He strolled around the room once, making a circle. "Ready to move on?" He inquired, turning back to Elizaveta.

* * *

Elizaveta laughed. "I couldn't count on myself to win, though. If anything, I'd fight alongside with you just in case." She didn't know if that sentence made her look weak or just trying not to boast, because she was actually being honest. "People feared us too - heh, even now, other nations don't want to mess with me." She flashed a smile before continuing, "I wonder what would have happened if the Vikings and Huns were present within the same time period. I guess we'd be fighting each other every day." Though she was amused by the thought, it probably would have been true. She couldn't help but to eye the sword Mathias had touched - Elizaveta was dying to get her hands back on the sword she used when she was a Hun and try it out again, no matter how old or rusty it could be now.

"Elves, trolls, and pixies," Elizaveta repeated. "You're starting to worry me, because that's only something that Arthur would say." Then she thought of his axe and how..._complete_ she would feel if she ever got herself to wield one of those. Elizaveta did have axes of her own back in her Hun days, but never anything as enormous as Mathias'. Setting herself back into reality, Elizaveta answered with a determined "ready".

* * *

"It would be an honor." Mathias grinned. _Fighting alongside, huh?_ He couldn't blame her-Vikings were masters of the sea, Huns were masters of the land. "And I know people did. I've heard plenty of stories of what you all would do to some of your...er, _guests_." He mused while remembering the gory, horrific, and disturbingly wonderful accounts of the ferocity of the Huns, much alike to those of the Vikings. He laughed, sweeping an arm through the air to gesture to the castle. "Why do you think I'm alone most of the time? History is never forgettable." Mathias returned Elizaveta's smile, nodding. "We probably would be. Then again, we were pretty close-but we were a distance from each other." He noticed the Hungarian's fixed stare at the sword, and a smirk played on his lips. _So she does miss those days._

Mathias let out another hearty laugh, shaking his head. "Oh, no. I'll let him have pixies, those were his, though they seemed to like to come here sometimes...but elves and trolls and nisses were and will always be _ours_." He pointed to a tapestry near the door they had entered. It stretched from the ceiling to the floor and was covered in designs of the creatures, intertwining and clashing with each other, as if telling a story. "If you get a chance, ask Eirik about his friends. If you're lucky, he'll show you them." Mathias snickered and waited by the door, arms crossed, eyes sweeping over the grand room once more before they left.

As they walked into another long corridor, Mathias could smell damp stone. The rain had picked up and was raging against the walls of the castle. _Great_, he mentally scowled, _I hope I don't find any leaks today._ He let out a sigh as he heard a distant _plip plip_, knowing that there were areas of the castle that were cracked and would allow some rain to seep in. A cold draft swept through the corridor, sending shivers down the Dane's spine.

* * *

Elizaveta laughed once more. She was well aware of her power, but would have loved to compare hers with Mathias'. _If only we could truly fight to see that, not just for fun..._ However, if she was underestimating the Vikings' strength, then that would just be like asking for death.

She then gazed at the tapestry Mathias acknowledged, picking out the smallest detail and easily translating the "story" that was hidden within it (after all, she had experience translating the anecdotes of her own history through things such as tapestries). A scoff flew out of her mouth and a glare was shot at Mathias for his snickering (but to admit it, his snicker was pretty cute). Letting go of her negative expression, Elizaveta followed Mathias into the corridor.

The stormy weather hit her harder here. The instant she took one step into the corridor, her hands seemed to automatically start rubbing her naked arms. She took a breath to alleviate a shiver. _This is even worse than walking from my house to Mathias' castle. How can Mathias survive in this kind of weather?_

Elizaveta listened to the wind and rain for a moment longer until she happened to hear a barely audible noise - metal sliding against metal - followed by a distinct "hahaha" that came from the door she had walked past. The woman froze midstep, wondering if she was the only one who heard that, then looked up at Mathias. "...Did you hear that?" Her voice was more curious than frightened.

* * *

Mathias himself felt pretty chilly, but he had gotten used to navigating in the dark and cold. A rumble of thunder vibrated the stone walls as the storm picked up. _Fantastic._ He looked over to Elizaveta and noticed her shivering. She wasn't used to this type of temperature. "Hold on." Mathias held out a hand to emphasis his words and walked to a small door in the hallway. He opened it slowly, but still it let out a loud _creeeeeek_. He scowled and rummaged through before pulling out a woolen blanket, featuring designs much like the tapestries seen throughout the castle.

Returning to the Hungarian, he draped the blanket over her shoulders. As they continued walking, he heard Elizaveta's footsteps stop. He grimaced at her question. He had indeed heard the scraping metal and the barely audible laugh. Looking down at her, Mathias nodded, his eyes drifting back to the door they had passed. "Yeah, I did." His voice was barely above a whisper. The wind picked up outside, sending an occasional howl through the hall. _Fucking fantastic._

* * *

Elizaveta's body jolted up as she squeaked at the sound off the thunderstorm. _It's incredibly louder than I thought it would be._ She watched Mathias reach into a room to get a blanket; Elizaveta's mouth seemed to be on the verge of freezing to the point where she could hardly say "thank you" to Mathias. The woolen blanket felt old and itchy, but just told herself that it was better than nothing. A pleasing wave of warm blood passed through her arms.

Elizaveta was glad to know that she wasn't the only one who heard the noise, but at the same time, wasn't. Both of them picking up the sound told her that there was, for sure, something in the door, rather than something that _could_ have been in there. The Hun slowly turned around and then started walking back to the door, challenging herself (or overcoming her fears) to open the door. Her hand grasped the ancient doorknob; Elizaveta didn't move for a few seconds to think about the possible consequences, but hell - she was a Hun, what was there to fear? With a sudden surge of determination, Elizaveta quickly swung open the door.

There, she saw weapons adorning along the walls of the room and a small table sitting in the center. Behind that table, there was a man whose back was facing her, standing with their back straight and a sword in hand. There was a small spot on the wall which indicated that the sword was taken from there. He was dead frozen like a statue, not moving a single bit nor saying a single word. Elizaveta knew exactly who he was.

"Gilbert, what the _hell_ are you doing here?"

* * *

**_A/N:_**

_BAHAHAHAHA another cliffhanger. c:_

_Again, **xNeyu** controlling Prussia/Gilbert. xD Don't worry, **Amerzt **has many more characters to roleplay later on. (Also, we hopewe roleplay these characters well enough. ;~; -trying their best-)_

_More research, woohoo~! This time, **Amerzt** has been doing quite a bit here. _

_From **xNeyu**: Also, I hope I was right about Hungary not being too fond of fish. o3o;; I wasn't too sure about that, but I tried taking a guess that she didn't, since most of her foods/cuisines aren't focused on seafoods. xD;_


	7. Chapter 6

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 6**

* * *

Gilbert zipped around his head, surprised as well. "_H-Heilig_ scheßie! Elizaveta, what the hell are you doing here?" His body was shivering madly not from the weather, but from knowing how deadly this Hungarian could be when she was outraged.

* * *

Mathias had to keep himself from chuckling at Elizaveta's squeak. _Cute._ He nodded to her, muttering a "no problem."

Mathias watched Elizaveta approach the door, amused. _She won't show fear, not in front of me._ He quickly strode up behind her when the door opened, his own eyes widening when he saw who was in the room. _What the hell?_ Mathias looked up to see the missing spot on the wall, his eyes instantly darting back to Gilbert and the sword in his hand. Gritting his teeth, Mathias marched into the room, striding right up to Gilbert.

"Hey Gil. Been a while since our last night out." Occasionally, Mathias had gone with Gilbert, Ludwig, Arthur and some of the others to chill out at a bar, all being quite heavy drinkers. The Dane, however, did not seem to be pleased to see the Prussian snooping around his home. He crossed his arms, glaring at the shorter man. "To reiterate Elizaveta's question...what the hell are you doing here? In my home? In _this_ room. With _that_." He pointed at the sword, which he saw was one of his own favorites.

Now, Mathias was usually good natured, especially since he and the Prussian could more or less be called friends. But he was not happy one bit, his eyes already starting to darken. "Answer me." he said loudly, with authority, yet ringing with menace.

* * *

Elizaveta was somewhat startled by Mathias' swift reaction from seeing Gilbert in his room. She stepped aside to let Mathias deal with his own business, but gave off an invisible but dark aura as she kept a close eye on Gilbert.

The Prussian nearly fainted from seeing Mathias come in. _Thank God that I'm not here alone with this crazy bitch._"Mathiaaaas, heeey! Oh, am I glad to see _you_. Wouldn't want to be trapped in one room with _her_." His hand's thumb swung upward to point at Elizaveta, who began to growl. Gilbert tried his best to ignore that, which he was too good at doing.

"Yeah, I'm really sorry for barging on your castle like this. But I was thinking..." Gilbert tiptoed quite a length to get his arm around Mathias' shoulders, but ended up back on his heels since he dragged down Mathias. He showed off a giant devilish grin as he tapped his own shoulder with the weapon he grasped and didn't seem affected by Mathias' demanding voice. "You have lots of land way over across the seas in America - what was it, Blueland? Greenland. Blueland. Same thing. (Should have named it Redland). Maybe you can...hand me some of that land as a friendly gift, y'know what I mean? I'll give you some of Ludwig's beer stash, or some money, or I'll take care of your castle or your people..."

Gilbert didn't care if it was a ridiculous, selfish request. His philosophy was: it didn't hurt to try. He had this sudden urge to go around to other nations recently to ask for land (in which he failed to get any - _yet_) in an attempt to create "New Prussia." It was his brightest idea yet; now he didn't just have to sit around all day in Ludwig's house and get slobbered by his dogs. He had a _dream_ to achieve.

* * *

"Glad to see me, huh?" Mathias was amused by the interaction between Gilbert and Elizaveta, but nevertheless was not amused by Gilbert's antics. _Oh please..._ He cocked an eyebrow at the Prussian, frowning. Then after a moment, he broke into warm laughter, his eyes alight with their usual humor.

"Oh, you mean _that_ hunk of land? Hmmm," he pondered, tapping his temple with a finger. "Give you some for beer, money, and housekeeping? That doesn't sound half-bad." He grinned at the Prussian and clasped a hand on the man's shoulder. "After all, what are friends for, _right_?" Mathias nodded to the sword that Gilbert was still clutching. "And of course, I guess you want that too?" His laugh turned into a snicker. "Oh, Gilbert..." _Oh, you bastard._

Then, without warning, Mathias snatched the sword out of the Prussian's hands, maneuvering it with such speed that before Gilbert knew it, he was against the table, sword pressed against his neck. The darkness had crept back into the Dane's eyes, and his voice dripped with venom. "What makes you think that I'd give over land just like that? You're a _fucking idiot_."

* * *

Elizaveta's mouth gaped open. She hissed quietly to Mathias, "You're _joking_, right?" She expected so much more out of the Viking and now this was happening. _This_ of all things. She would rather have World War III than Gilbert getting new land for the stupidest reasons. Her eyes narrowed and darkened greatly, watching the two men intensely.

Gilbert's red eyes flashed with happiness. _Are you serious? Was it THAT easy?_ He began to have an adrenaline rush, prepared to accept...well, almost any offer. _Finally, New Prussia will be born! And I'll train Mathias' pathetic little 'Vikings' to god damn awesome fucking_ Neo-Prussians. He breathed, incredibly excited. _And he won't know what will hit him when I start taking over all of fucking Greenland. Oh, Old Fritz, you'd be so-_

And then, before he knew it, he was pinned down to the table. "Oh fuck," he whispered. "H-Hey, it was worth a try. But you know, I _could_ sic Ludwig's men on you if you really want to get into a war now." A smirk crept upon his face, his crimson eyes locked onto Mathias' blue ones, mocking him.

Elizaveta, still at the doorway, couldn't be any happier. _Thank you, Mathias. You meet my expectations._ However, once Gilbert came upon the topic of war, her hand twitched. She also realized that Mathias could kill Gilbert here, and for her former best friend to die...

The Hungarian stood there, worried and silent, dreading about her future.

* * *

Mathias didn't budge, his eyes, now seemingly emotionless voids, firmly pinned on those of the Prussian. He pressed the sword closer to Gilbert's neck, snickering. Mathias tried to push his bloodthirsty thoughts away, but they felt so…_good_.

"You never cease to amaze me." He smiled down at the Prussian, his voice sinister. Mathias had to do his best not to just decapitate Gilbert right then and there. _Damn, it's tempting..._ "You'll set your _brother's_ men after me. I guess it goes to show how pathetic you've become over the years." The blood was rushing to the Dane's head, his former Viking self taking control over his mind and body. "You honestly think that's a _threat_?" he hissed. "I have every right to harm you, simply for trespassing and attempted theft." More weight on the sword. "And then bribing me for land?"

Unbeknownst to the others in the room, something-no, some _things_-slithered across the floor of the room, quietly making their way to the table that the Prussian was held against.

* * *

Gilbert continued to smirk at Mathias and coughed out a laugh. "Are you kidding me? I can use my brother's men all I want - _I_ raised him. _I_ gave him that land and he's taken good care of it, so he should keep it to himself. He owes me his life, and he'll _willingly_ help me out when it comes to something like this." He then frowned. "And I was just going to use that sword if you were going to cause something like this."

The Prussian raised his legs to kick Mathias' sword up into the air, just enough so that he could roll backwards and land next to the table. He snatched another sword dangling on the wall and pointed it at Mathias. _There hasn't been something like this in_ ages. _Oh, how I love fucking around with other nations._ "C'mon, _Viking_," Gilbert challenged, his words tainted with mockery. "Too much awesome scare you away?"

Elizaveta was still dazed, staring into space - Gilbert killed. Then Ludwig and Roderich freaking out, and taking action against Mathias. The rest of the Nordics would aid him. Then the rest of Europe would be involved, then the rest of the world. A true World War III. Her hands clutched onto her head in distress, with her current problem with Roderich and the other nations haunting her again, almost going on the verge of insanity.

The two of them didn't notice the slithering things in the room either.

* * *

Mathias hissed when Gilbert was able to kick the sword up into the air, but he caught it, pointing it right back at Gilbert. A haunting smile appeared on his lips, his expression dark. _Bastard, you think everything is that fucking easy?_

"Too much awesome?" Mathias laughed, cocking his head to the side, before looking at the Prussian again, throughly amused. "More like too much stupidity." The adrenaline was rushing through his veins, but he tried to keep it under control. His grip on the sword tightened and loosened, again and again. _As much as I'd love to_, Mathias thought, _killing this guy might not be such a great idea at the moment._ The Dane walked closer to the Prussian, eyes narrowed and an ever-widening smirk decorating his face.

"I don't have time for you and your greed. Maybe if you kept better track of things earlier, you wouldn't have lost your empire." Mathias clicked his tongue. "Tsktsk, how sad. What else to expect from a _teutonic knight_."

The slithering creatures caught Mathias' attention, causing him to grin. "I'm leaving you with a warning, Gilbert. You may have gotten away this time, but if you ever, ever try something like this in the future, you can be sure that Prussia will forever be a thing of past." As soon as his last sentence ended, the slithering creatures attached to Gilbert's legs, quickly slithering up his body, wrapping around it. _Serpents_. Mathias snickered. _I never thought I would say it, but_ ros Midg_å_rdsormen. _I owe you one._

Mathias strode up to Gilbert, his nose almost touching his, eyes narrowed. "Take good care of them. You wouldn't like to see them when they get angry."

* * *

"That's right," Gilbert cruelly confirmed. "And what about _your_ Viking empire? Oh, wait, _I forgot - you lost it_. Maybe you should take those words back, you ironic bastard." The Prussian began to steadily walk around the table as Mathias moved closed to him, attempting to keep the both of them straight across from each other at all times. He then scowled at his sharp tone about the Teutonic Knights - in which Elizaveta had snapped her head up at that moment, glaring at Mathias - and definitely wouldn't let him get away with that. Gilbert was proud of his past and his empire and wouldn't let _anyone_ get away with making fun of it. He could tell that Elizaveta was thinking the same way.

"Leaving already? No surprise, I thought you were a pussy." Gilbert attempted to move, but realized that the animals at his feet had constricted his movement. _Dammit_, he cursed to himself. However, Gilbert was able to maintain a smirk and an intense glare back at Mathias as he approached him. As the slithering creatures binded his hands, he lost grip of the newer sword, which clinked to the ground.

Thus signaling Elizaveta's move.

She had snatched the last sword on the wall, diving the sword's tip between Gilbert's and Mathias' neck, but the edge leaned more towards Mathias' throat. Her eyes glowered at the Nordic as the feeling of hatred seeped through her body. "Make a move on Gilbert or say another offensive word about the Teutonic Knights," Elizaveta muttered, her voice clear, unwavering, and threatening, just as it was like in her Hun days, "and you'll have to face me."

* * *

Mathias sneered. "I didn't lose my empire, we just _progressed_." He wouldn't take any trash talking of the Viking Age, his pride too great. "And I already had given you land-my people have not forgotten the cession of Slegsvig-Holsten to you. I may have gotten the north back but your brother took the south." Mathias clearly remembered the day Gilbert and Roderich had come and taken advantage of his nation's weak state, when his boss had recently passed away without leaving a heir.

He smirked again at the Prussian, shaking his head. "I find it funny that you'd try to insult Vikings-considering you used our imagery in _your_ World War Two propaganda." He remembered those days clearly, when the images of Vikings were used to promote the Nazis-something that had enraged him. Mathias himself had been forced onto the side of Nazi Germany and Prussia-something he was still bitter about, even though he got people to safety.

_By the power of Thor, if I don't kill this man..._ "Gotta be one to know one." He watched the serpents tighten their hold on Gilbert, though he still couldn't help but wonder what they were doing there in the first place. Mathias locked eyes again with the Prussian, eyes narrowed. Whatever warmth and jest that could usually be found on the Dane's face was completely gone. He didn't move when Gilbert's sword dropped to the ground, the _clank clank_ of cold metal against cold stone pleasing to his ears.

However, he was surprised by Elizaveta's movement. _For satan._ He now locked eyes with the Hungarian, expressionless. "I'm not making another move on him-you heard me." Mathias's next words ringed with a cold edge, resonating the dark and damp room that they stood in. "How hypocritical-Vikings can be mocked all they want, but one little thing about Teutonic Knights and I start a riot." He scoffed. "I thought you were better than that."

* * *

Gilbert simply continued smirking at Mathias as he spoke, and was glad that Elizaveta had finally done something to stand up for him - or them. He wriggled slightly, attempting to escape from his confinement. The albino scoffed. _Looks like I can't do anything about it._

Elizaveta stared into Mathias' eyes, which had actually surprised her. The once familiar, blue eyes had transformed into something so demonic. _So this is his Viking side. I see what Roderich means._ However, she kept her place and tightened her grip on the handle of the sword. "Release Gilbert," the Hun ordered, momentarily glancing at the serpents before fixing her eyes upon the Viking's again, "and I won't start any bloodshed."

Elizaveta realized how awkward it would be to stay in Mathias' castle after this incident. She was convinced that she (or Mathias, or even both of them) was cursed, seeing as something very similar to this had happened earlier at Elizaveta's home. _Way to set an impression on others and ruin other nations' days._

* * *

Mathias let out a sigh. "I'm not doing anything. I don't control those serpents." He nodded towards the creatures who were enjoying their time with Gilbert. "Looks like they were just trying to be nice." As much as the Dane would have like to see the serpents slowly squeeze the life out of the Prussian, especially since his intrusion had stirred memories from the past, Mathias took a step back. He tried to regain his calm. After all, while progressing into modern day he had done his best to make his nation one of the most peaceful and happiest ones on the planet-he wasn't going to start anything now to ruin that.

Staring at the serpents, Mathias decided to try his luck. "_Fly, I tjenere af Midg__å__rdsormen. Jeres tilstedev__æ__relse er ikke kr__æ__vet her._" The serpents hissed loudly, raising their heads to turn and look at Mathias. Their cold, dark eyes locked with his, and as if understanding, nodded to each other. They slowly released their hold on Gilbert, slithering back towards the floor, but not without leaving some bite marks, though none too severe.

* * *

Gilbert, finally free from the serpents, fell to his knees and took a few heavy breaths. He turned around to examine his wounds as he muttered, "'Trying to be nice' my ass. Those fuckers _bit_ me, dammit. Now I'm sure to die since they injected me with their poison." There was a high sense of sarcasm in his voice, but still had a good chance of being right. He turned his head to face Elizaveta, who had lowered her sword and returned it to its rightful spot on the wall. "Heeey, Liz~ Thanks for saving me, I love you-"

Suddenly, Elizaveta zipped over to Gilbert and grabbed his shirt, raising him off of his feet. The Prussian, surprised, stared at Elizaveta from an uncomfortable position. _Oh shit._ The albino's legs swam in mid air to check if he was really off the ground - and he was. _I'm going to die. I'm going to die. Dear_ Gott_: please take care of Ludwig, please make sure that my diaries will be found to be passed on to any awesome people, and please don't let Elizaveta know that I have her-_

"**Gilbert, do you know what the _hell_ you could have started?**" Elizaveta screamed right into the Prussian's face. Gilbert simply stared at her, incredulous. Her voice lowered slightly, but not enough for the red-eyed man to calm down. "I've already been through a ton of shit and _you're just adding onto it_. Suddenly a friendly visit nearly turns into some _fucking war_ just because _you_ are greedy and stupid enough to just _ask_ for land? You're asking yourself to get _killed_, Gilbert. Why don't you god damn _think_ before you act?" A moment of silence swept over them as Gilbert visibly rattled from fear, with Elizaveta's gaze locked onto Gilbert.

* * *

Mathias combed a hand through his hair, closing his eyes for a few seconds to once again hide away the bloodthirsty side of himself. Upon opening his eyes, he glared at Gilbert. "Unfortunately, I don't think they were of the poisonous variety." _But goddamn I wish they were._ He picked up the other swords and replaced them carefully on the wall as well, his eyes examining any damage that may have befallen on them. Satisfied that the swords seemed to be in good condition, he turned back to the other two in the room.

The Dane was slightly startled by Elizaveta's sudden move, but smirked upon her screaming. _Oh, this'll be good. The fucking bastard deserves it._ Mathias fully enjoyed the sight of Gilbert rattling in fear, and just seeing the man being lifted into the air by the usually elegant Hungarian was enough to make his stomach hurt from laughter.

He restrained, instead crossing his arms and glaring at the Prussian. "Did you honestly think I would have taken that offer with a light heart after what you and Roderich have done to me in the past? Seriously, I knew you were an idiot, but not _that_ fucking stupid." Mathias huffed. The storm, which seemed to have momentarily calmed down during the tense events, was picking back up again as a loud rumble of thunder traveled the halls, causing the weapons hung upon the wall to rattle ever so slightly.

* * *

Gilbert looked at the Nordic (though occasionally glanced at Elizaveta) and smirked. "Nope, I didn't expect you to take it, Mathias. As I believe, it doesn't hurt to try. Plus, it's been sorta boring nowadays, I thought I should take a walk or something before I die in West's house with his dogs. Then I ended up here, somehow." He shrugged in midair, but Elizaveta's hand threw to the ground the next second. "Owww, fuuuuck, what the hell was that for-" The Prussian peered up before Elizaveta's eyes (with a wonderful view of her body too at that), yet felt a different aura casted around her. "I'm sick of this," she muttered before she stepped out the room, continuing down the corridor as the lightning struck.

Elizaveta was too distressed to think where she was heading or to worry about getting lost. She just wished that she could live peacefully for just one day - and decided to stay with Mathias in an attempt to get rid of her burdens temporarily - but in one way or another, her day was ruined, as well as her image. As much as she wanted and tried to suppress her temper, Gilbert had knocked on the wrong door and let her fury escape. _If anything, Mathias probably won't forgive me._

* * *

"Somehow? How do you _somehow_ appear in a room in my castle?" As angry as Mathias was, all that showed in his voice was frustration and fatigue. He winced when the Prussian hit the ground, knowing that it must have hurt from the sound made when Gilbert hit the floor. _If only it could have been enough to kill..._ Mathias clenched and unclenched his fists, reminding himself to calm down once more.

Mathias watched Elizaveta leave the room, a slight frown on his face. He turned back to Gilbert, trying to compose himself. He coughed. "Now, I think it would be in everyone's good interest-and safety-if you _left_." Mathias pointed out the door. "I'm going to guess you came in through the passage directly across the hall from here." He paused. "And I would suggest getting out of here as fast as possible-those serpents will probably be wanting more. They always do." _And so that I can find Elizaveta. She's bound to get lost._

* * *

"Yuuup," Gilbert coolly confirmed, not too scared of Mathias, even after he nearly killed him. He lightly poked at the bite marks on his body, frowning at them as he rubbed his upper thigh to soothe the numbing Elizaveta caused there.

At first, Gilbert wasn't too motivated to leave. However, remembering the pesky creatures, he growled and carefully rose to his feet. "Yeah, yeah, I went through that door. I'll get going," he mumbled. "It's so much better to be alone anyways. Hahaha..." Though he seemed to be complying to Mathias' request - or _demand_ if he could put it that way - the Prussian wanted to stay around and follow Mathias to see what was up with the Hungarian, but figured that it'd be better to stay away from her before he _really_ was killed. Glancing at the still-enraged Nordic, Gilbert departed.

* * *

**_A/N:_**

_From **xNeyu:** I hope that this longer bit with Gilbert got you guys a bit more than Roderich's scene. xD It certainly got me going in the RP. 8D_  
_To admit, I am also a PruHun fan, but I try my best to refrain from any sort of bond between them and use historical contexts or things that Himaruya have pointed out between the two. Sorry if I tend to go a bit overboard with some of Prussia's thoughts - most of it is for laughs, anyways. xD_

_From **Amerzt: **We're actually currently pretty far in this RP. . .and as I read over this, I feel like we've improved a lot. XD We were kind of rusty at these stages. Also, you can see Denmark speaks some Danish in here. . for those of you who don't know, _**Thor**_ is the thunder god in Norse Paganism (Viking religion, yo). _**Midgårdsormen** _is a mythological sea serpent from Norse legends. What he says to the serpents translates basically to "_Flee, you servants of the Midgårdsormen. Your presence is not needed here."  
_And _"For satan" _is Danish for _"God damn it".

_Also, some history for you-what Denmark is talking about is the _**Slegsvig-Holsten Wars.** _ I would explain it, but it's probably just easier to read up on Wikipedia, haha. Also, during WWII, though Denmark tried to stay neutral, Germany invaded and made Denmark a client state. Hence Denmark's bitterness. The Danish Resistance is another interesting thing to look up on-it was seriously one of the sweetest and heroic things I've heard of. In short, Denmark gathered up the majority of the Jews when they heard Hitler was after the Danes (seeing them as 'perfect Aryans'), and sent them over to Sweden for safety before Germany attacked. C:  
Also, yes, it is true-Nazis did use Viking imagery in a lot of propaganda. Researching is fun, yes it is._

_Okay, history time is over. We'll upload the chapters slowly. . .currently we're already in the thirties, heh. Don't want to overwhelm anyone, though. :p  
_


	8. Chapter 7

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 7**

* * *

Yet another thunderstorm nearby struck, and this time, the rumbling shook her. Elizaveta stood in place for a moment, watching the flashes outside die out before continuing her stress-relieving walk. She was cold again (and had dropped that wool blanket back in that room when she pointed a sword at Mathias' neck) and doubted that anyone was there to give her a coat or blanket again. Her hands generated heat on her arms, as she always did when cold. "I should just go home," Elizaveta said to herself, even though she was highly aware of the dangers outside. She felt that roaming around or staying in the castle was already nerve wrecking - especially if she was alone. _It's surely a lot spookier to walk around an empty castle alone._

* * *

The Dane's eyes followed the Prussian, making sure he actually left. "Good riddance." He sighed. Once Gilbert had left, Mathias leaned against the wall for a moment, eyes closed, massaging his temples. The mixed sound of rain, thunder, and wind cast an eerie feel over the castle. It was dark, too. He breathed in and out, deeply, giving himself time to calm down and think rationally.

After a couple of minutes, he pushed himself off the wall and looked around before leaving the weaponry, closing the door behind him. A flash of lightening briefly highlighted the hallway. Mathias noticed the lights had dimmed, due to the storm taking a toll on the electricity system in the castle. Since it was empty most of the time, the only place that had (hopefully) foolproof electricity was the main house.

_And the heating system. Why the hell did we only put the heating system in the house?_ He began walking down the corridor, in the direction he believed Elizaveta had gone down. _Talk about awkward..._ He bit his lip. _But...it's bound to happen sometimes, right?_ He tried to be optimistic. It was true that conflicts between nations were not rare, and he wasn't going to hold a grudge against the Hungarian for threatening him earlier. After all, just as he let his Viking side take over, Elizaveta had gone to her Hun roots. Both of them were having their issues. No big deal. _No big deal._

"Elizaveta?" He called out into the dim passageways. His voice echoed, which against the backdrop of the rain gave an eerie effect. He looked around for any sign of the Hungarian. "Eli?" He tried again, louder, receiving the same response. _Dammit._

* * *

Elizaveta turned a few corners thoughtlessly, hoping to find some kind of new pathway to reach an exit. _This place is a maze. I wonder how long it took for Mathias to get used to this castle._ After another hopeless turn around the corner, Elizaveta had arrived at yet another long hall, and sighed. The drumming rain and chill followed her everywhere she went and no matter where she went, the Hun just kept on getting more lost and lost. Perhaps Mathias led her into a dungeon. Maybe she was going in circles. _It feels so...creepily lonely here._

That sentence echoed in her brain longer than she wanted it to; the feeling of loneliness clung onto her and her thoughts reminded her of the day when she was just a single nation whom was always teased. Yes, Roderich had been there for her, but suddenly Elizaveta felt something different about their relationship. It seemed so..._fake_. Her bond with Roderich, out of the blue, seemed nothing more than business. Then a realization struck her - no one, not one nation, was truly there for her. The corners of her mouth began to twitch downward uncontrollably and her eyes formed a layer of water. Elizaveta trembled, then gradually slid to the ground from where she stood in the vacant hallway. "_Dammit!_" she yelled hoarsely as a balled fist stamped the ground, overwhelmed by an unexpected and heartbreaking thought.

* * *

Mathias had rounded several corners by now, trying to see where the Hungarian may have walked off to. But it was impossible to know for sure-from how she had reacted, she probably stormed off with a cloudy mind. _This castle is great for prisoners-they can't escape easily._ However, makes it a bitch of a thing to navigate for the rest of us. He quietly walked, occasionally calling out Elizaveta's name. No response.

He sighed, resting against a railing of a staircase. He could go down the stairs, but he doubted Elizaveta would have left the floor. Looking around, there were two corridors to take. As he debated, he heard a faint voice coming from one of them. _Elizaveta._ He immediately traveled down the passageway, straining his ears to hear any other signal of the Hungarian's presence. "Eli?"

* * *

Elizaveta, despite being in deep thought, sat straight up upon hearing a voice and twisted her body to look behind her. She was about to call out Mathias' name until she realized that she may mistaken him for Gilbert - or even worse, something else. _Who knows, I could be hearing Roderich of all people._

Her eyes closed to think about the tone of voice and figured that the call was too soft to be Gilbert's, yet too strong to be Roderich's. It wasn't all that new to her, either; _Mathias_. "Is that you, Mathias?" she called out, her voice cracking a bit from her emotional state. Elizaveta really didn't want to talk to him right now, either - first of all, she was undergoing a sudden burst of sadness, which could be taken as a weakness on her part, and second, Mathias could just be out to kill her.

* * *

Mathias sighed with relief when he heard Elizaveta's voice. _She doesn't sound too good, if I'm hearing properly. Or maybe the castle is just playing tricks on me._ He quickened his pace, responding to Elizaveta's question. "Yes, it's me." He paused. "Stay where you are-I think there are still several booby traps set up in here." He hoped that would cause the Hungarian to stay put.

He rounded a corner, and sure enough, he saw Elizaveta, on the ground. _Oh no._ He let out a sigh. "Dammit, you had me worried! You don't just go storming off like that-what would I do if you fell into one of the traps set up in here?" His voice however did not show frustration-in fact, it was rather gentle. He shook his head and slowly walked up to the woman, but stood a couple of feet away so as not to make her uncomfortable. "Are you okay?"

* * *

Elizaveta's heart gave out one hard beat. _Don't come near me,_ she wanted to say, but it was too late. Quickly, she wiped away any tears that could stream down her cheeks and quietly cleared her throat before Mathias could reach her, though remaining where she was as the Dane told her to.

Elizaveta widened her eyes, and this time her heart skipped a beat. _Worried? You're kidding, right?_ Even his soft voice surprised her - it was as if the man she was with in the room before was completely different than the one she was with now. The woman was about to respond to his first question until she noticed that he read right through her. _Am I really that transparent?_ The tip of her lips twitched again, almost on the verge of sobbing, but she managed to hold it in.

"No," Elizaveta answered, her voice still somewhat hoarse but slowly returning to normal. "I'm sorry for what I did earlier, Mathias. Gilbert is...or was...a good friend of mine. I couldn't let him die, so I had to defend him. I really didn't want to threaten you that way, but if I tried anything else, then..." She paused, hesitating to finish her sentence. "...It wouldn't have worked, because you weren't yourself then."

* * *

Mathias was quiet for a few moments, listening to Elizaveta, detecting the hoarseness of her voice. _Wasn't yourself..._ The words echoed in the Dane's mind. He wouldn't say he wasn't being himself-more like he was showing a side of him that he himself tried to keep locked away. _Wait...she thought I might do something? Like kill them?_ He shook his head, now taking a couple of steps and squatting down next to the Hungarian, so that they were almost eye level.

"Don't worry about it." His smile was sincere. "It would take a lot more than that to get me all up in arms against someone. I was angry. You were angry. Gilbert was being his usual idiotic self." Mathias shrugged. "As nations, shit like that happens. I've had my fair share to know quite well, and I'm sure you have too." He was trying his best so that the rest of the night wouldn't be awkward.

In the little light that filtered through the passageway, he could make out, just ever so slightly, wet spots on her face that she had obviously attempted to dry up. Another rumble of thunder rang through the castle halls, louder than the ones before. Mathias looked up. "We should probably head back to the main house..."

* * *

Elizaveta widened her eyes; Mathias was letting this go so easily. He was...so carefree. She thought about the words Mathias told her, and had to agree; being a nation was tough and each and every one of them always had their struggling moments. It was like a daily routine for them. And, while thinking about this, she found out that she didn't have to be so stressed out over Roderich's problems. Roderich may be frustrated with neighboring countries, but when wasn't he? _Roderich's involved with other nations so much that he's probably used to it._ Mathias was right - too right that the next cold breeze that flew down the hallway seemed to penetrate through her head, catch all her worries, and release her from those stressful thoughts. Her lips curved up into a smile.

"You're right," Elizaveta said, accompanied with a chuckle (which she was surprised to hear herself). "Thank you, Mathias." Her head turned to face the window, for once not startled by the blaring thunder. She was too amazed with what simple words could cure her illness. "Shall we go, then?"

* * *

Mathias was relieved to see the smile on the Hungarian's face. Even more so-though also surprised-to hear her chuckle. He shook his head again. "Again, don't worry about it." Mathias laughed, filled with it's usual warmth, much different from the encounter with Gilbert earlier. _Good. She's listening._ Mathias looked at Elizaveta. _Hopefully she's not the type that won't stop apologizing on a consistent basis._ The Dane flashed another smile before getting up, stretching as if he had just finished a tiresome task.

"Let us." He held out a hand to help Elizaveta to her feet. "Well, we'll just have to figure out how exactly to get back." He looked around the corridor. He knew where to go, for the most part, but there was a corner here and there that confused him. Another flash of lightening. _Is it just me, or are the lights dimming even more?_

* * *

Elizaveta blinked a couple of times before accepting his hand and getting onto her feet; she stumbled a bit due to the length of her dress, but caught herself in time before she lost balance. His hand was pleasingly warm, but that was also because her arms were numb from the low temperature. _He's probably going to notice and be the usual gentleman he is,_ the Hun predicted, remembering how Mathias had twice given her something to keep herself warm.

"Is it always this stormy here?" Elizaveta questioned, in search of a conversation on the way to his main home. "Or is this just a rare occasion?"

* * *

Mathias felt a chill go up his arm when Elizaveta took his hand. _Damn, she must be freezing._ He kept himself steady as the Hun balanced herself. He clicked his tongue. "You're an icebox." He looked around. He wasn't sure if any of the doors led to rooms with something to keep them warm. Taking a chance, he opened one of the smaller doors. Sure enough, there was a comforter, and Mathias wondered how many different bedrooms alone were in the castle, as he had forgotten. Returning to Elizaveta, he draped it around both of them.

"Sorry, it's the only thing in there, and you're going to trip and drown in it." He laughed and started walking, doing his best to keep pace with Elizaveta. "We do get a lot of rain here, no doubt. Storms this bad aren't that common-we get them, but only very occasionally. And today seems to be one of those occasions. Lovely, isn't it?" Mathias stopped for a few seconds, debating which way to go when two corridors presented themselves. Retracing his steps, he took the right corridor and continued.

* * *

_And so I'm right._ Elizaveta shook her head when Mathias went off for a moment to get something to keep her warm. Once he wrapped the two of them in the comforter, Elizaveta stood close next to Mathias to make sure that she wouldn't keep yanking on the comforter and pull Mathias in her direction. She could feel the heat radiating off of his body from where she stood and exhaled.

Elizaveta had some trouble walking alongside Mathias - he was so tall that it was natural of him to take big steps. She realized that he was trying his best to match her pace, but found herself to still be taking larger steps than usual. Not too sure if he was sarcastic or not, Elizaveta answered dully, "Mmhmm." She nearly tripped over herself when Mathias stopped and yanked on the comforter by accident, but luckily caught herself again. The Hungarian noticed that she was rather tired, believing that this was the cause for her clumsiness. She kept an eye on Mathias' boots before starting off again. "Sorry about that," she mumbled, embarrassed.

* * *

Mathias could feel how cold Elizaveta was when she stood close to him, noticing goosebumps across her skin. He took note of her occasional stumbling, noticing that her eyes showed how tired she was. He nearly lost balance when the Hungarian did, but was able to stay steady as she caught herself. He laughed, looking down at her. "It's fine. Stop apologizing for everything, geez." He tightened his grip on the comforter so that it wouldn't slip off of the two as they walked.

Another flash of lightning, more dimming of the lights. It was hard to see more than a few feet ahead of them now. _Great._ Mathias fumbled for the flashlight he had brought, turning it on. The device sent a strong ray of light down the hallway. "I hope this lasts." He sighed. The storm was raging outside, and it had actually been a while since he remembered such a bad one.  
After walking down numerous passageways and once having to turn around from going the wrong way, Mathias stopped, adjusting to their new location. "Almost there." He smiled at Elizaveta as he began walking again, at this point relying on only the flashlight as the corridor lights were practically out.

* * *

"Sor-" Elizaveta cut herself in the middle of her apology, seeing that she had done something that Mathias particularly asked her not to do. "As you can see, I can't help it." Elizaveta rolled her shoulders to make herself comfortable under her portion of the comforter, letting Mathias grip the other end securely.

Elizaveta's head snapped up in reaction to the lightning. She was surprised that she wasn't used to the lightning strikes by now. _I must be really tired, then._ She peered up at Mathias, who seemed way too tall to even look at. "Looks like I'm the bringer of the storm," Elizaveta jested, smiling. Fortunately, on their U-turn, she didn't hop around like a child playing hopscotch, and smoothly walked beside Mathias. _He has such a comforting aura when he's his normal self,_ she admitted. _I don't recall ever being this calm around Roderich. It's probably because something's always on his mind._

* * *

Mathias chuckled. "Well, not everything requires an apology, and not everything is your fault. So learn not to!" He made sure the comforter didn't drag on the Hungarian's side as they continued walking.

The Dane was almost startled by Elizaveta's sudden response to the lightening. Mathias looked down at Elizaveta, who now that they were right next to each other was a bit shorter than he had originally thought. Grinning, he responded "It seems like it. We needed some rain, but I didn't think we were going to get _this_ much." A roll of thunder made itself heard at the end of his sentence. He was glad that they were able to move with some smoothness after some practice. He shined the flashlight around, making sure that they were going in the right direction.

After several minutes, the flashlight had dimmed quickly, it's batteries obviously not fresh. But it emitted enough light that Mathias could recognize the door at the end of the corridor they were currently traveling through. _Finally._ Though he couldn't help liking being under the comforter with Elizaveta, her presence eliminating the usual loneliness he had felt as of late. "I'm guessing you're going to want to drink something warm. Tea? Coffee? Something with alcohol?"

* * *

Elizaveta laughed. _Apparently, Roderich doesn't know the good side of this man. Maybe he should learn to lighten up a bit,_ she thought.

The roll of thunder made Elizaveta back away from the window and bump into Mathias; happy that he was stable and didn't topple over, she grumbled audibly to herself while remembering not to apologize, glaring outside the window as if to tell the thunder 'I hate you'.

Upon approaching the door ahead of them, Elizaveta felt a surge of relief; for a moment, she thought that Mathias got lost in his own castle. Without thinking too much about what to drink, Elizaveta automatically replied, "I'll take some alcohol." Plus, that would help her get a good night's rest once - or if - she crashed and burned, unlike the other nights which she had been struggling to get herself to sleep.

* * *

Mathias tried his best not to laugh, but couldn't help but snicker at the Hungarian's grumbling after bumping into him. Cute. He realized that was the second time he had thought that that night, but it was the truth.

He nodded to her request. "You have good taste." He laughed as he opened the door, turning on the lights as they shuffled in. They had walked into the lounge area. He motioned for Elizaveta to have a seat, releasing the comforter from around him and instead dumping it on her so that she could comfortably wrap herself in it. "Ever tried _glgg_?" Before waiting for a response, Mathias prepared the drink, a hot punch made with red wine, brandy and sherry with raisins and almonds. He inhaled the comforting scent, which reminded him of the holidays, where it was obligatory to drink _glgg_.

He poured two glasses and handed one to Elizaveta. "Enjoy."

* * *

Elizaveta smiled in substitution of her words, feeling incredibly sluggish. She sat down obediently, enjoying how soft the sofa was here compared to the castle's. When Mathias tossed the comforter onto her, she frowned, as it had landed and veiled her head. Lazily, the Hungarian swiped it off of her, also turning a small lock of hair strands to the other side of her face. She blew at it once in a pathetic attempt to get it back to the its proper side.

"I haven't tried it," Elizaveta answered, forcing herself to use up some energy to say that. She nodded again as a thanks for the wine and hoped that the wine would either keep her awake or make her fall dead asleep, taking a good drink out of the glass. Her brain seemed to shift slightly. "You have rather fine wine," she complimented, slightly more perky.

* * *

Mathias laughed at the sluggishness the Hungarian showed. _She's amusing, that's for sure. _  
He sat down next to Elizaveta, lying back, taking a large sip from his own cup. He smiled at the Hun and took another sip before responding.

"Mmhmm. Thank you. I pride myself on my beverages, or for that fact, anything." Mathias laughed, rustling his own hair with one hand. It felt good to sit down in the warmth instead of shuffling through the dark, cold and hard passages of the castle. It was harder to hear the raging storm outside from the inner house as well. He massaged his neck and shoulder, allowing the warm wine to flow through his body and ease it.

* * *

Elizaveta nodded. "I can imagine that." She chuckled and looked into her wine cup, only to realize that she had already consumed about half of it. _Oh dear. I'm feeling a little too ravenous for wine right now, aren't I?_ The wine did seem to give her a slight energy boost; testing to see if it really did, Elizaveta took another sip and she felt her blood up and running a tad faster.

She decided to take a look around his house from where she sat. _He's right - it's pretty modern._ Elizaveta's free hand rubbed the sofa below her and admired that sense of touch. Her eyes then came upon various photos on the wall, and recognized that in the photographs were Mathias and the other Nordics. Though she wanted to comment about them, Elizaveta remembered that Mathias still had an issue with them at that very moment and kept silent, smiling as she drank some more.

* * *

Mathias glanced over at Elizaveta's glass. _She sure enjoys her dose of alcohol._ Which was fine with him, since he was a heavy drinker. He got up and brought the bottle of warmed wine over, setting it on the coffee table, which was at first unnoticeable due to it's transparent design. "Feel free to have more, if you'd like." he said as he finished off his own glass and poured himself another one. Settling back down on the sofa, he noticed the Hungarian looking at the pictures. His own gaze wandered to them, and he let out a light sigh, but disguised it while stretching out once more.

His fatigue was starting to disappear as the wine turned into energy, streaming through his veins and making him feel awake. _It's been a while since I've had this stuff..._ He usually kept it as an occasion drink to have during Christmas and New Years, but it was nice to bring it out every now and then. He turned to Elizaveta. "So..." _So, I'm really bad at starting conversations._

* * *

Elizaveta immediately reached for the bottle of wine once Mathias offered her some more. It felt as if her body was moving on its own while Elizaveta just helplessly watched what she was doing with her eyes - though she didn't really fight back that feeling. She had this sudden urge to drink more and more, trying to satisfy her brain's thirst for energy and the strange happiness that came with it. There was no need to fight her own body when it was doing something nice or good for her. Which also caused Elizaveta to think that she was losing it.

"So you haven't been able to scare me yet," Elizaveta reminded him with a somewhat strange tone of voice she hasn't used at all that day - or even in her life. She took a swift sip from her cup, then poked out her tongue a bit to clean up the wine on her lips. The Hungarian wished that she warned the Dane beforehand about her and her tendency to do...things...whenever she got drunk while being tired at the same time. "Tell me some stories if you like, and we'll see if I start freaking out."

* * *

Mathias watched Elizaveta with an amused expression. He had never thought that the Hun was a fan of alcohol, just because of the way she was around Roderich. _Then again..._ It hit him that she may have actually stayed away from alcohol to seem more "lady-like" to Austria. _The aristocratic prick..._ Mathias shook his head, which felt lighter since his consumption of the wine.

He chuckled, though averted his eyes from the Hungarian for a bit. "Really, so you haven't been scared by anything yet?" The Dane tapped his glass with a finger, looking up and pondering. "I have a variety of stories to tell...thing is, being the weirdo you are, I'm not sure what exactly freaks you out and what doesn't." Mathias laughed, taking another swig of the wine before pouring himself some more.

* * *

"Pfft, it's not like you're weird either," Elizaveta retorted, half mumbling because of her mouth tripping on her. She was _definitely_ getting affected by alcohol, and a little faster than she should be since her body was worn out. It was as if the alcohol was taking advantage of her weakened body. "Take a shot at any story, Mathias. It's not like anything bad will happen because you weren't able to scare me."

The Hungarian took another long drink from her cup of wine. It felt so relieving to drink as much as she wanted to - though it damaged her reputation as a woman, Elizaveta didn't regret drinking now in knowing that she won't be able do so again for a long time.

* * *

Mathias laughed. "I know I'm weird." He could feel the alcohol slowly taking an effect on him, but since he usually consumed a great amount of it, his tolerance to the effects was high. "And I'm not sure how true that statement is." Mathias teased, shooting the Hungarian a smirk.

He watched Elizaveta for a bit more, taking note of how much wine she was taking in. "A story..." He mumbled, scratching his chin. After a few moments he snapped up. "Okay, here's one-it used to get Tino _all_ the time." He nodded, remembering when he enjoyed messing with the other Nordics during late nights. Mathias shifted his position so he was at an angle towards Elizaveta. "Do you believe in ghosts?"

* * *

Elizaveta frowned in response to Mathias' smirk. Of course, if there's a good side to him, there's always a bad or mysterious side as well. Sure, his "bad" side was his Viking attitude, but this wasn't the same thing. His smirk, unlike other nations' like Gilbert's or Francis', emitted a completely different aura. It didn't hit her as evil, but it just seemed as if there was something behind it.

"Oh, Tino," she sighed. Elizaveta could easily imagine him getting scared (and clinging onto Berwald, _oh my god how cute was that image in her brain_). "Yes, I do believe in ghosts. Hungarian mythology tends to talk about ghosts quite a bit." The woman was surprised that she was still able to talk formally in her drunken state. She nodded, encouraging, "Go on."

* * *

Mathias nodded. "But hey-what's the use of a spooky story if you don't have the spooky atmosphere?" he grinned and got up. The Dane took a large candle and lit it, placing it on the coffee table, and turned off the lights. The flame of candle cast an eerie light on the room, causing dramatic shadows and wavering patterns on the wall. Paired along with the steady beat of rain, the atmosphere did indeed change.

Mathias settled back on the sofa. "There." He took his cup and took a couple of sips before continuing. "Once upon a time at Christmas, back in the day when it was still common to have Chrismas mass very early Christmas morning, a woman awoke on Christmas night. She lived alone and didn't have a clock, and it was dark outside, but she decided it must be about time to go to mass, so she got up, wrapped her shawl around her, and ventured out into the cold wintry air." As if on cue, the wind began to faintly howl. _Perfect._

* * *

Elizaveta's eyes barely managed to trail after Mathias to watch him, and once he switched the lights off, she noticed how the candle flame flickered and danced in the dark. It was calming, but at the same time, it added to the haunting air. It didn't help either that the darkness was making her sleepy again, so she fought to stay awake and attentive to Mathias by drinking some more wine.

Elizaveta lifted up her skinny legs and set them on the couch, too drunk to realize how unlady-like and rude it was, and pressed her back against the arm of the sofa. That way, she was comfortable and she could face Mathias at a better angle. She placed the comforter over her knees, which were bent and close up to her chest. "'Once a upon a time'," Elizaveta repeated quietly. "What a typical introduction." Her eyes then narrowed to the right, as her ears had detected the howling wind, but wasn't startled by it. _Alright, Mathias, you better do something more exciting before I crash here._

* * *

Mathias didn't mind Elizaveta's posture. Hell, being one of the few nations that _actually_ had equality for males and females, he was quite glad that the Hungarian wasn't straining to appear lady-like, something she obviously picked up during her time with Roderich. It made it more comfortable to be with her, since he himself didn't have to stick to formalities.

"Oh hush." Mathias quietly and joking scolded. "What did you want me to say, 'One dark and stormy night'?" He pondered on it for a bit, and then grinned at her. "Actually, let's do that. It was a dark, stormy night, much like our own. This woman was actually a close acquaintance of the queen, who lived in a castle much like this one." Mathias took a sip of wine, which refreshed his mind.

"Now when she reached the church, which was located in the castle, she found that mass had already started. But then she started noticing something strange: The hymn that was being sung was not one she recalled ever having heard before." More howling of the wind, and a distant chiming, could be heard. "Furthermore, she didn't recognize any of the other church-goers surrounding her, although a number of them seemed strangely familiar to her. Even the preacher was unfamiliar to her and he, like everyone else in church, was alarmingly pale with deep, dark eyes."

* * *

Elizaveta laughed heartily but drunkenly. "You're a funny guy," she commented before he continued with his story. Her brain processed his words, which formed a mental movie inside her head: the woman walking into the church, wearing a worried expression and the people in the church with white skin, black eyes, and black robes (which was the way she imagined it) looking at her - the background noises seemed to blend in with her mental images and scenes, yet she still maintained a rather serious but tired face.

Elizaveta finished her second cup, in which she claimed the bottle again to refill her cup; however, only a small amount streamed out of it. The Hungarian put the hole of the bottle up to her right eye, peeking inside as she closed her other eye, then carelessly set it down next to the sofa. Again, her brain was begging for more wine - more alcohol - to keep herself awake. "Mmhmm..." she hummed, expecting something better.

* * *

Mathias smirked. "I know I am." He let himself laugh out loud at the Hungarian's actions. He mumbled something about getting more and quickly retrieved a couple more bottles of wine, but got one of beer for himself. He set the bottles on the table, finished off his wine, and opened the beer bottle, taking a sip before continuing once more.

"As she sat there,a man beside her placed a hand on her shoulder. She turned to him and found herself face to face with empty eye sockets and a face with most of the flesh ripped off. 'Leave right when the pastor says _amen_.' The woman was obviously too horrified to even hear the words the man said. As her eyes darted around, she saw that several others appeared much like the man did. The hymn got louder, and soon everyone in the room was chanting, in some language she couldn't understand." The wind's howling picked up, almost sounding like various murmurs. Mathias took another sip.

"Terrified, she got up and ran out of the church door. But when she ran out, she didn't find herself at the entrance-rather a long pathway. Still recovering from shock of her changed surroundings, she felt something tugging at her shawl. The pastor was behind her, cursing her again in the unknown language, and ripping at her shawl. She screamed and managed to get away, slamming the door, and leaving her shawl behind." Suddenly, a loud bang was heard, and Mathias turned to find a book that had been carelessly placed at the edge of the counter had fallen over. He couldn't help but grin. _Hurrah for sound effects._

* * *

The drunkard quickly and greedily snatched a bottle for herself, seeing as Mathias had his own beer. She was wondering how much this man could drink - actually, she realized that she should be wondering how much she'll drink. With no problem whatsoever, her thumb popped off the cap and she started swallowing down the bottle of wine, rather unmannerly. _Mathias'll probably forget about this by next morning anyways. What's the use of saving my reputation now?_

Elizaveta felt a shiver zip down her spine imagining that, but she didn't seem too affected by it. _I'm sure I saw worse while I was still a Hun._ She then yawned, letting out a horrid smell of wine while closing her eyes and raising an outstretched hand to her mouth. However, she found that yawn and eye closing to cause her eyelids to stick together; her eyes refused to stay open anymore, but her brain still her up. Mathias' words began to blur, her head limped constantly (then shoot back up every now and then), her hand started to loosen its grip on the wine bottle...

But out of all things, the book had greatly startled her. Elizaveta's eyes snapped open and she chucked her bottle of wine at the counter, causing the bottle to shatter into pieces and the liquid inside it to splatter all over the floor and on both Mathias and Elizaveta. She happened to throw her arm out too far that she ended up lying somewhat on the Viking by accident. Elizaveta stared at the counter in confusion, coming upon a sudden realization of what she just did.

* * *

**_A/N:_**

_Don't really like this cut off. . .but the chapter was becoming so long. . the next chapter is. . .well, one of our favorites. ;D  
_

_. . .Ah, hell, we'll just upload the next chapter along with this-don't want to disturb the flow.  
_


	9. Chapter 8

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 8**

**This is one of several chapters that led to our "Mature" rating of this fic.  
It's not really that bad, though. Heh. . .enjoy.  
**

* * *

Mathias watched the Hungarian with utmost amusement. _Damn, she can drink more than I thought._ He couldn't help but wonder if he was being a bad influence on her. _Hell, who cares? It's more fun this way._

The Dane nearly jumped when Elizaveta threw the bottle, and cringed when he heard it shatter. _She's lost it..._ He looked down at the Hungarian, who was practically lying on him, and blinked a few times. The smell of alcohol filled the air and stained not only their breaths but clothing now as well.

A smirk played on his lips. "Well, looks like you got scared." He looked over to the book that lay on the floor. "Thank you, oh kind binding of paper." He focused-or tried to focus-his gaze back on the woman, who looked shocked, her wide green eyes staring at the shattered bottle pieces. "And I didn't even have to finish the story." He laughed, though there was now a drunk tone to it. He cocked an eyebrow at the Hungarian. "Who knew you could be so entertaining?"

* * *

Elizaveta frowned when she barely made out Mathias' smirk from a blurred eyesight and words from an unfocused brain. "I'm not saying anything about what you just said," the woman mumbled sloppily. She pushed herself off of him, using his knee as her support as her hand applied the pressure there, and stood up. "Ugh, sorry, I'll clean that up." Luckily, _some_ of her manners was still in tact. She thought that Mathias would probably dislike it that she was doing this, but didn't care, as she was too lazy to turn around and go back onto the sofa.

The Hungarian wobbled onto her feet, took a few steps toward the counter, then abruptly collapsed from a dizzy head or lack or energy or probably both; strangely enough, she "woke up" during her fall and landed on her hands, making her get into a position as if she were doing push ups. However, her hands landed in the wrong places - the shattered glass beneath them pierced her hands, allowing blood to leak out through the cuts in her hand and stain the wine and the floor. She sneered loudly and was now completely awake. "Dammit," she cursed, unable to move because of the pain.

* * *

Mathias snickered at the Hungarian's response, but looked at her, surprised, when she got up. Before he could protest against her actions, she was already shuffling over to where the broken shards lay. _This girl..._ The Dane shook his head and got up, slowly, to get a broom. Upon hearing Elizaveta's sneer, however, he immediately turned around to find her on the floor. The way she landed, she obviously must have gotten glass in her hands. _Shit!_

Though he realized that Elizaveta might kick him for this, he strode over to her and picked her up, carrying her over to the counter, carefully stepping around the broken bottle pieces. He sat her on top of the counter, though at the part that met with the wall so that the Hun had something to lean against. He shook his head, looking up at her. "Woman, you're going to drive me crazy if you keep up this stubbornness."

Mathias grabbed her wrists and forced her palms to face up. He inspected her hands, clicked his tongue and muttered a soft "shit" under his breath. He opened a cabinet and took out a first aid kit, pulling out a pair of tweezers to carefully and gently remove the bottle pieces. He set the bloody glass to the side and poured disinfectant cream onto the Hungarian's hands before bandaging them up.

Done, he finally looked up at her again. "Now stay here. You are not moving your ass from this counter, understand?" He pointed at the counter for emphasis, laughing. Mathias then turned around to get the broom and vacuum to clean up.

* * *

Elizaveta noticed that her weight suddenly decreased and a pair of hands had wrapped around her body. She would have struggled to escape from his grasp, but she was too weak and dead to do so. All that came out from her was a slight movement of her legs, which obviously had no effect on Mathias. Thankful that Mathias had given her a wall to lean on, she sat there and rested her back against it as the Dane observed her hands. She was surprised that Mathias was caring and worried enough to do this for her - for a _Hun_ (who was drunk, to add to that) - when she could have just taken care of herself. It almost offended her - it was like she was being treated as a child. "What a father," the Hun muttered aloud her thoughts. "If what you say is true, then I'll definitely drive you _insane_." She winced now and then as Mathias picked out the glass shards, and once he bandaged her hands, she flexed them to make sure there weren't any left.

Again, the fatherly side of him got to her; his gesture made it even worse. Elizaveta slipped off of the counter, despite Mathias' orders. The alcohol once again affecting her, she noisily kicked the furniture with her boots as she got off and had to cling onto the edge of the counter for support. She mentally cursed at herself as she hit the nerve spots her hands, though showed a pained expression. "Like I'm going to do whatever you say."

* * *

Mathias showed a small smile. "Father? Huh, try telling the others that." He shook his head, snickering. "Lady, my _life_ is insane." He shot her another smirk. "I said that figuratively. No one knows stubbornness better than I do."

He returned with the broom and vacuum and sighed when he saw Elizaveta off the counter. He came up dangerously close to her, leaning so that his narrowed blue eyes looked directly into her green ones. "Oh, I'm sorry, Miss _Hun_." He pondered how he was going to get the Hungarian to sit down so that she wouldn't hurt herself again. Her tolerance to alcohol was obviously not as high as his own, and since she had gone a while without it, it was even worse. _Lovely...I have a drunk, stubborn, yet very attractive woman in my house. If the others found out, who knows what they would think..._

Finally, he pushed the Hungarian back against the counter, so his arms were on either side of her, his hands pressed on the counter. "You may not want to listen to a thing I say, but you have no choice. And stop thinking it's an attack to your pride, because I know you're thinking I'm trying to make fun of you or something." He cocked an eyebrow at her. "_You_ are completely drunk. _Anyone_ who is completely drunk is bound to just get themselves into more trouble. Now stop being Miss-Almighty and shut up, sit down, and wait."

With that, Mathias picked her up once again, this time tossing her onto one of the other sofas. He quickly threw pillows and blankets onto her so that she was practically buried. Satisfied, he used the broom to gather all the larger broken pieces, sliding them into a dustpan and throwing it away, before taking the vacuum to get any of the smaller pieces. It only took him all about 3 minutes-it wasn't the first time that bottles had been broken. No, _far_ from the first time. The wine was still there, but that could be dealt with later.

* * *

Elizaveta, not reacting to Mathias' penetration of her personal space, smirked back and leaned her head towards the Viking, challenging him. "I'm sorry, _Apa_. I'm very aware that I'm drunk, but you have no right to tell me to do things. I'll do whatever I want, whenever I want, however I want-"

And yet she was still being treated cruelly. She squeaked and shut her eyes while getting picked up, though landed on the sofa safely once she was tossed. However, the Hun opened her eyes to see pillows and blankets attacking her. Falling over, Elizaveta lay still for a moment, enjoying a short amount of time lying on the sofa as if she could just sleep there, before flinging herself back up. For no good reason, she grabbed one of the pillows and chucked it at Mathias' head, nearly falling over the sofa from doing that.

* * *

Mathias laughed at the Hun's retort. _Oh, she's a charming one...how the hell did she and Roderich of all people get together?_ The smell of alcohol was strong in the room, but not for the Dane. He hardly even noticed it, as it was a usual scent to fill the house at night.

"_Ow._" Mathias rubbed the back of his head where the pillow had hit him, which it did with quite some force. He glared over at Elizaveta, before smirking. He picked up the pillow that hit him and strode over to the sofa. "Did you want something, my _dear_ lady?" He jested. A devilish spark lit up in his eyes and he hovered over the Hungarian, pushing down on the pile of pillows. "Note to self: Drunk Huns are a lovely form of entertainment."

* * *

Elizaveta displayed a smirk on her face as well. How amusing it was to see him get hurt, let alone say 'ow'. Also entertained, she watched the Viking walk over to the sofa, still wearing the same face. His eyes seemed to trigger a change in her own eyes, which became darker and more narrow. Feeling the pressure on her legs as he pushed down the pillows, Elizaveta barely managed to shift her legs so that she was pushing back with an equal amount of force, causing equilibrium.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I do something like throw a pillow at your head? Oh, no, I surely didn't do _that_. I never would," Elizaveta replied exaggeratedly and with heavy sarcasm, grinning even more. "And entertainment? That's nice, but that's too bad for you, because I don't work for entertainment."

* * *

Mathias felt the Hungarian push back. _Legs of a warrior..._ he mused. He snickered at Elizaveta. "Why, of course you never would do such a thing!" He leaned in towards the Hungarian, smirk widening, the spark in his eyes still dancing. "Because...that would be so very _unlady-like_, wouldn't it? And I know how much it means to you to be a lady..." The Dane waved a hand towards the several empty bottles laying around. "And of course you didn't drink _any_ of that, because, once again, you're a _lady_, isn't that right?"

His voice took on a mischievous tone. "And are you sure? Because you sure as hell have been entertaining me." Mathias felt the alcohol getting to his head, but he pushed the notion aside. _Entertaining she is indeed._ He pushed harder against the pillows, leaning in closer to the Hun. "You really should consider."

* * *

Elizaveta had to bend her head back to keep her eyes fixed on Mathias', also sending him a playful and teasing look. Oh, was she awake now. "Mmhmm, very unladylike. Childish, too, at that." She paused to think, which ended up not helping her at all. She just said whatever she could think of at the spur of the moment. "But wait, true women act like men. We don't have to confine ourselves to our femininity or feminine things. Makes women look weak, too. So why not try being a man for once?" It was actually funny of her to say something like that, seeing that she once believed, as a child, that she would become a boy when she grew older...

Her voice responded to Mathias' voice change, just as their eyes did, and happened to no longer sound drunk at all. Elizaveta, however, didn't draw back as Mathias moved in. "I'm quite sure," she said, her voice lower yet somewhat seductive. "If I was working for entertainment, I'd probably be a _prostitute_ living on the streets right now. You think I'm in that position right now?"

* * *

Mathias caught his breath at the Hungarian's playful tone. _What a tease._ "Huh. Is that how you see it?" The smirk returned, his eyes narrowed. "I saw women as the more intelligent side of men-the ones keeping the world from killing itself. But if you want to be stupid like us, go ahead. Makes it easier for us..." He knew he was pulling on her strings, and _oh how he was enjoying it._

Mathias continued to press in, now practically on top of her, their noses only centimeters from touching and so that the Hun could feel his breath on her skin. He responded, his voice low, deep, and mischievously seductive. "What if I said yes?" He looked straight into Elizaveta's green eyes, noticing the change. A devilish smile adorned his face as he waited for her response.

* * *

Elizaveta smirked back, continuing her chain of expression responses. "True, but when women act like men, they beat the shit out of them whenever they do something stupid anyways. That in itself is preventing world destruction by mankind. Two birds with one stone right there." She snickered.

Her head phenomenally pushed back even more, which was only possible because of her great flexibility. _Hun training does help later in life after all._ She could feel his body and its warmth through the blankets and pillows that covered her; her smirk reappeared on her face. Instead of responding, Elizaveta's legs overpowered his hands, in which the Hungarian was able to cause the both of them spin around; taking advantage of the spin, Elizaveta jumped over the sofa and landed on her feet, her hands on the sofa during the entire stunt. "Try it, and you'll see what happens."

_But oh,_ god, _how she wanted to close the gap between their faces just then._

* * *

Mathias burst out into laughter. "Two birds with one stone...interesting." _Feminists, gotta love them._

The Viking felt the sudden overpowerment and was surprised by the Hun's stunt, landing with an _ooff_ on the sofa. Oh, you're in for it now. There was nothing stopping the Dane's mischief at this point..._especially after being that close._ His voice was muffled due to the pillows. "Mmhmm."

He turned around and propped himself up by his elbows, just enough so that he could make direct eye contact with Elizaveta, and grinned. "Try it?" He jested. "Is that an invitation?" His eyes were alight with the devilish glint, the _intoxicated_ (and _intoxicating_) devilish glint. Mathias had to try his best to suppress his Viking instincts.

_But_ hell, _how badly he wanted to just pull her against him._

* * *

Elizaveta did not approve of Mathias' height. Even on the sofa, he could match her height (or stand even taller). Even so, she was enjoying their play too much. _I don't ever think I've done this before - if I have, then it's been a long while._ She kept her eye contact with the Viking, not only because she wanted to, but also because she couldn't seem to escape it. One of her hands released the sofa and her index finger was placed under his chin, drawing his head toward hers. Her voice was smooth, soft, and again seductive as she replied, "If that's the way you want to take it." From where she stood, she could smell the odor of beer as well as Mathias' own house scent, which she found so pleasing to breathe in. _I'm terribly drunk._

* * *

Mathias narrowed his eyes as he let himself be drawn towards the Hungarian. He felt a tingling sensation run down his spine as she spoke. _Okay, either the alcohol is getting to me or her...or both._ He responded in an equally smooth and seductive voice, this time accompanied with a sly smile. "Maybe I do." His gaze continued to lock with Elizaveta's as he let himself get lost in the green sea. "It's a tempting invitation, y'know." He snickered. The Dane was fully enjoying himself-the game the two of them were playing had fully awakened him, an unknown energy fueling him. _I am so going to get a terrible hangover._

* * *

Elizaveta cocked her head to the side slightly, making her brown hair dangle a bit, and this time bent further in towards him, her lips only a few centimeters away from his. His snicker was so _irresistible_ that she had to answer in some way - verbally or physically. She was whispering now, seeing no point in talking with a normal voice. "I can tell, Mathias. But it's still up to you if you want to call me a whore." Her smirk widened, waiting for Mathias' response.

* * *

Mathias breathed in the Hungarian's scent, the sweet smell of the grasslands and forests mixed with wine, which only became stronger as her hair dangled to the side. Her lips were so close-too close. He shifted himself, ever so slightly, so that he could free a hand to bring up to Elizaveta's face, tracing a finger down her cheek. His whisper was filled with lust. "You are a whore. A terrible, teasing, goddamn whore."

With that, he took the risk. The Viking closed the distance between them, pulling her down to him and smirking against her lips. _I am so dead._

* * *

Elizaveta narrowed her eyes to glance at his hand, but allowed him to stroke her. _When was the last time Roderich did this?_ Smiling at his words, the Hungarian was about to respond until his lips locked in with hers, making something click in her brain; her eyes momentarily stared at him in surprise, but Elizaveta eventually returned the kiss, tasting both wine and beer on Mathias' mouth. She was strangely greedy and kept herself locked into the kiss for another few seconds, taking advantage of what she had now, until Elizaveta suddenly released it, grasped Mathias' arm, and threw him down onto the floor on her side of the sofa. Quickly, she sat down on his stomach and leaned forward, setting her elbows on his chest, her chin resting on her intertwined hands.

"What was that?" Elizaveta said, with a smirk.

* * *

Mathias wasn't expecting the Hungarian to kiss back, but to his pleasure she did, and kept it up. _And she's damn good._ The Dane was throughly enjoying himself, her taste sweet. But then the Hun broke the kiss and threw him down. "_Ooff._" It took him a few seconds to regain his breath, and a few more to realize that Elizaveta was now on top of him. Due to the pull on his shirt, the first couple of buttons on Mathias's shirt ripped apart. He drunk in the scene before smirking back at her. _Lovely._

"What did you think it was?" He teased, keeping his eyes locked with the woman on top of him.

* * *

Elizaveta was unable to keep her eyes away from his shirt for what seemed like a minute because of her drunken state. She then returned Mathias' look and snickered. "The best compliment I have received in my entire life." Her voice was heavy with sarcasm. Her finger then moved down to trace circles on the naked skin at his collarbone while her eyes followed the tracing. She could feel the strength of Mathias' body just through that small section of his chest, knowing that his body surely had the potential to murder - and did as a Viking.

Again, her mouth begged for yet another kiss. _Kissing him is like drinking alcohol - once you start, you can never stop,_ she admitted to herself. Roderich would have killed her if he found out about any of this, but ignored it; she was loving this play too much. Her lower jaw shifted slightly, possibly preparing for another one. Just in case. "And may I ask why you did that?" Elizaveta questioned him, referring to the kiss.

* * *

The Viking's smirk widened as he noticed what the Hun was focused on. "I wouldn't be surprised." Mathias jested. He watched Elizaveta's eyes trace the movements of her finger, which tingled his skin. _She's such a tease._ He realized himself how intimate they had gotten, but it was too much fun. _And hell to Roderich._ He actually smirked at the idea of the Austrian ever finding out.

He longed to taste her again, feeling more intoxicated than he already was from the kiss. "Did what?" he snickered, shooting her a look of utter innocence. They had already gone this far, there was no point in holding back. Mathias lifted his right hand to brush away Elizaveta's hair, cradling her cheek, while his other hand lightly traced up her thigh to rest on her back. "...This?" He pulled her down once more, slightly lifting his own head, and pressed his lips against hers. His tongue slid across her soft lips, begging for entry, as his left hand traced up her back.

* * *

Elizaveta's smirk swiftly curved down into a frown. _He must be joking._ She couldn't tell if Mathias really was holding her cheek - either he really was or he wasn't because she was just too drunk - but then felt a light touch on her thigh and, eventually, a hold onto her back. _No, I'm not hallucinating._ The Hungarian leaned forward more, shifting her legs so that she would be in a more comfortable position, and placed both of her hands on Mathias' body to keep herself from collapsing again.

However, Elizaveta was then pulled down, causing her body to crush against her awkwardly bent arms and the man's chest as she added more pressure into the second kiss Mathias had given her. Her brain seemed to click again, yet she was disappointed that Mathias drew away so quickly. Even so, Mathias moistening her lips made up for that disappointment, though goosebumps flooded over her skin and a blush swept across her face. "Yes, that." She looked out from the corner of her eyes to glance at the position of Mathias' left hand, hoping that Mathias wasn't (or maybe _was_?) going for what she thought he was.

* * *

Mathias felt the Hungarian's hands on his chest, which felt cool and gentle against his hard muscles. The Dane couldn't recall the last time he had the sensation he was feeling now. The Viking in him longed for more, _much_ more. At this point, it was hard to resist. The two of them were drunk, on the ground, one on top of another. _Who could blame me?_

He smiled at Elizaveta, licking his own lips to savor her taste. Mathias could feel her goosebumps and the heat radiating from her blush. He brushed his thumb across her cheek, his eyes wandering down to her neck and back to her eyes. His left hand began to twirl her hair, wrapping it in the thick softness. "That," He smirked, his voice devilishly sweet. He lifted his head, so that his mouth was near her ear, and whispered. "...was a sample of Danish dessert."

* * *

Elizaveta felt safer - _just a little_ safer - that his left hand started toying with her voluminous hair. But at the same time, she wanted it as much as a man in a desert was thirsting for water. Here, she could keep her good reputation alive...or destroy it. Her hands slid down Mathias' body, not necessarily loosening any articles of clothing, so that they rested beside her legs.

She was debating; _hesitating_.

Elizaveta then returned to the teasing atmosphere surrounding the two, a smirk decorating her face again. "If that was dessert," she began, "then what happened to dinner?" Her left hand reached up to lightly grasp Mathias' right one, her fingers dancing gently around his like a spider's legs. Her head also turned towards Mathias, the crook of her nose against his neck, a position in which she could no longer see his face.

* * *

Mathias let out a deep breath as the Hungarian's hands slid down his body. It was slowly becoming harder and harder to control himself. _Oh hell..._

The skin on his hand tingled as Elizaveta's fingers danced on it. The feel of her lean, feminine fingers against his more calloused ones was pleasuring. Mathias felt a shiver run down his spine, feeling her warm breath against his collarbone. He breathed in her scent once more before responding, his voice again full of lust. "Who needs dinner?" His left hand continued to toy with her hair, but brushed upon the upper part of her back several times.

* * *

Elizaveta felt Mathias' body tingle, assuming that he was either scared or struggling to resist her. She couldn't blame him; she wanted to do something...something bad, something terrible, something _sinful_. Suddenly thinking about Roderich and her womanly side, she continued fighting back her lust, but remained in the same position. Mathias' scent wasn't helping either.

Her shoulders twitched every time Mathias' hand poked her back, dreading that he may take some sort of action but, again, she wished that he did. Elizaveta laughed, then slowly moved her right hand up to his cheek as she traced up his body with the tips of her fingers. She continued exploring, "What _would_ be dinner?"

* * *

Mathias inhaled sharply at the feel of Elizaveta's fingers on his body, and then slowly let it out again as her hand came to rest on his cheek. He could feel her twitching at his own touches, and moved his hand so that his fingers lightly traced circles where her neck met her back, still entangled in her hair. He wondered about their situation-only for a few seconds-but it was enough for him to fantasize Roderich's outrage. He felt terrible for wanting it, but at the same time..._he loved it_.

He brought his focus back to the Hungarian. He smirked, taking his hand off of her cheek and placing it over her hand. He took her hand and placed it closer to his mouth, so that she could feel his breath on the palm of it. "Anything." His response was simple, a single word, but his whisper was dangerously seductive.

* * *

Elizaveta smiled devilishly when she heard Mathias inhale - so he was having difficulties holding himself back after all. Feeling the circles on the border of her neck and back, her back curved inward, pressing against Mathias' body as she herself took a breath. Another breath was released when she could feel his air patterns upon saying that single word, her hand twitching once. She then lifted up her head a few inches to get a glimpse of his expression, then straightened up to meet him face to face. Her head felt sickening heavy.

"Anything, huh?" the Hun questioned him as her deep green eyes looked away. There was a moment of silence until she wondered about this...situation. "Tell me - is this all real, or are we just completely drunk?"

* * *

_Fuck._ Elizaveta wasn't making things any easier by pressing up against him. His desire for her was ripping up his insides as he still tried to stay in control. He looked up at her, his neck feeling empty as the cool air of the room replaced the Hungarian's warmth. The scents still overwhelmed him-the wine, the beer, the sweetness that was Elizaveta-and his mind blurred for a few seconds, before regaining focus. _If I get out of this alive..._

"Anything." He repeated, smirking. He watched the Hun avert her gaze. His eyes narrowed at her question, which surprised him. He realized that he himself didn't really know at this point. _I want her,_ he thought, _but is it only because of the alcohol?_ Mathias remained silent for a while, trying to find an answer. He tried to think of how he normally felt towards the Hungarian, but it was no use-the alcohol had taken it's toll, and it only gave him a headache.

He finally responded, with a whisper that was full of uncertainty. "Good question." He paused. He placed his finger under Elizaveta's chin, forcing her to look at him, direct-eye contact. "What do you want it to be?"

* * *

Elizaveta waited anxiously for his reply. However, his ambiguous response frustrated her; she was tired (and drunk) to begin with and now she was involving herself with something that may change - or ruin - her life forever. The same thing could happen to Mathias.

Her head was still and faced Mathias, this time continuing to keep eye contact with him. His blue eyes, even when it was so _undeniable_ in every way, were telling her that he was being honest. She frowned. "How the hell should I know?" Her hand patiently crawled down the Viking's face and neck, again using spider like motions with her fingers, and settled at his shoulder, watching for Mathias' reaction.

* * *

Mathias' skin shivered under her touch. Her teasing didn't help, and he forced himself to continue looking up at her, not leaving the Hun's eyes. _Hell, as if I know either._ He blinked a few times, thinking carefully-or as carefully as he could-before responding. His thumb slowly circled her cheek and brushed her bottom lip. He brought himself up just a bit, his eyes focused.

"The better question, it seems, would be do you _want_ it to be real?" His voice was low, but serious. Mathias didn't know what he wanted in response to his question, but he waited anxiously for her reply.

* * *

Elizaveta ceased teasing him, now that she was finding it hard to think and, again, to stay awake. It probably took her a minute to unscramble her thoughts and think logically, then she finally answered, "I don't know." The frown on her face attempted to tell the Nordic that she wasn't kidding around. She highly valued Roderich's friendship, and for her to get into something like this with a nation he loathed at the moment would crush it. But Mathias - she didn't seem to be able to let go of him. He had most of Roderich's personality when he was normal...as a nice bonus, he was _hell_ of a seductive and entertaining man when drunk...

A smirk came upon her face as she asked him, "Do _you_?" Her bandaged hand started outlining his visible collarbone, initiating her teasing again.

* * *

Mathias let out a sigh. He could tell that Elizaveta was being honest with her response. _She's probably thinking about Roderich..._ He mentally scowled. Why was it that he always had to be compared to someone? He shoved the question aside, concentrating back on Elizaveta. He could sense the gears in her brain turning as she thought about the situation. He wondered himself...he had never gotten close to a nation like this before. He had always found the Hungarian to be attractive, but never thought more of it. But now, there she was. In his house. _On top of me. _

Mathias laughed softly as the Hun started to play with him again. _Oh god, she's torturing me._ He started toying with her hair again, and he returned Elizaveta's smirk. "What if I said I did?"

* * *

Elizaveta's brain seemed to be pleased with Mathias' laugh. It was heartwarming, but somehow so cruel at the same time. _If that's the way I think of his laugh, then I'm most likely falling for him. Out of all people and places...pray to_ God _that I'm drunk and I'll forget all of this tomorrow morning._ The Hungarian finally replied in a manner that was too careless for any good. "If you did, then I would probably get into a hell lot of trouble and get killed." Setting aside the hypothetical situation, she asked him again, "But do you really?"

* * *

Mathias narrowed his eyes at the Hungarian's response. _If she's going to put it in those terms, I think I just want her more for the danger of it._ He closed his eyes for a few moments, contemplating her repeated question. He didn't know what it was that he was feeling, but he just couldn't get Elizaveta off of his mind. Her voice, her touch, her _everything_. She had him hooked.

"Get killed," he murmured. He opened his eyes, looking straight into those of belong to the Hun. "Why? Aren't you independent? Can't you do what you want to do? You sound as if you're still a territory that needs permission to do anything." His tone was a mix of teasing and seriousness. He really did wonder what caused the Hun, who was always so proud, to go back to thinking about what others would say to her.

Mathias averted his gaze. "Maybe I do." He tried his best to make his voice sound indifferent, but wasn't sure how successful it was.

* * *

Elizaveta took another long moment to think. "Of course I'm independent. What I mean is..." She paused, a little worried what Mathias would react if she said this. "I may get killed by other nations if they found out that we got into this...relationship." She tried her best to make it sound like she wasn't mainly talking about Roderich - what about the other Nordics? How would they respond to this? She shook her head, trying to get that thought about the future out of her head.

Elizaveta's eyes widened in surprise. Naturally, she thought that every single time a man got drunk and started toying around with a girl, it was a one time thing - one night stand. Or was he just too drunk to honestly state his opinion? However, his eyes seemed to tell the truth; now she was just scared for her life. _Out of all people and places..._ she thought again, more viciously. Her eyes turned serious, realizing what she was getting herself into. But she was confused - incredibly confused. Being drunk didn't help her sort out her thoughts at all. _...Dammit._

Out of nowhere, Elizaveta closed the distance between them, her lips desperately contacting his, as if to search for the right answer even if it wasn't the best method. Her hands slid over and past Mathias' shoulders, her arms surrounding his neck and one of her hands tugging at his golden-blonde hair.

* * *

"What would cause them to kill you?" his voice was full of curiosity, trying to decode Elizaveta's words. He searched her face, and noticed her response to his words. She looked like she was thinking the same things Mathias was thinking. _What mess have I gotten myself into?_ He tried to think of a response, to question her further, see more into her mind.

But before he could, Mathias felt the Hungarian's lips pressed against his. He was surprised, not foreseeing the action at all, and it took him a few seconds to realize that her arms were around his neck. The Dane closed his eyes and moaned softly in response to the tugging of his hair and placed his arms around the Hun, his hands dragging down her back as he returned the kiss. His senses were flooded with the scent of the woman, and he absorbed it happily as he deepened the kiss.

* * *

Elizaveta allowed herself and Mathias to engage themselves further into the kiss until something - as if God momentarily came down to her - said, _You're in for a lot of trouble._ She abruptly tore away from Mathias' lips, her eyes quite wide and staring in great fear. "Please tell me I'm drunk," she whispered ever so quietly, a headache immediately infecting her head like a disease. Her hands retreated to grip her head in an attempt to alleviate the headache, but obviously didn't help.

Quickly, she wobbled onto her feet, her hands still on her head, completely stunned by her epiphany. Elizaveta began to amble aimlessly and drunkly. _What...what would become of Roderich? Maybe he was right - I shouldn't have...shouldn't have even invited Mathias to my house. Maybe there was a good reason to adhere to the "rules" of a woman._ Elizaveta tripped herself somehow, but luckily a wall had caught her shoulder, and stood there idly.

* * *

Mathias was surprised by the sudden end to the kiss, much like the sudden start of it. He looked up into her shocked eyes. _Great._ He twitched at her words and watched her get up. His vision blurred, sending the Hungarian out of focus and in focus as she wobbled back and forth. He slowly got up into a sitting position, his eyes trailing her movements. Sitting there, he too noticed the risky situation they were in. _What_ would _the others say? They probably wouldn't even care._ Mathias glanced at the numerous framed photos of the Nordics. _No. Not at all. They never do. _

The Viking had never felt so indecisive in his life. Should he get up to comfort the Hun, or remain seated, silent? After a few minutes, Mathias finally got up, though slowly. He scanned the room, then took a few steps towards Elizaveta, but not too close. Bracing himself, he finally managed to say something.  
"Eli..."

* * *

Elizaveta, suddenly shifting from her drunken, teasing self to her normal self, uttered, "I'm sorry, Mathias. I think I need to sleep; that's probably the reason why I'm getting this headache." Her hands finally released her head and fell down to her sides. Hoping that Mathias wouldn't become too concerned about her strange change in behavior, the Hungarian turned around and walked toward the sofa, thinking that it would be the fastest way to get herself to sleep (those pillows and blankets were so tempting).

* * *

Mathias simply stared at Elizaveta. Exhaustion seemed to have finally caught up with her, he could see that easily. But he knew that she was also trying to avoid what had just happened between the two of them. A part of the Dane's head also began to ache, though subtly. He shook his head. Mathias couldn't let things go that easily. _No,_ he argued, _this Viking is what won't let go so easily. _

But he had to control himself. One wrong move and he could ruin their relations forever. "Of course." he managed to force out, though detached of emotion. Mathias wanted badly just to grab her arm and pull the Hun towards him again, _so badly._ He gritted his teeth. _Goddammit, now I'm just tormenting myself._

* * *

The Hungarian sighed deeply. She stood behind the sofa for a few more minutes, pondering about what had just happened; Elizaveta didn't deny that she greatly enjoyed it, but was she truly this kind of person - a whore who simply loved to play around with men? Or was she really starting to fall for this Viking? Roderich still held her heart, but in a different way. She owed a lot to him, but then Mathias..._If anything, his affection is much more genuine._ Elizaveta suddenly gave up on her thoughts and figured that she should just sleep to forget about this..._hopefully._ She then moved over to the arm of the sofa and let herself fall backwards onto the pile of blankets and pillows, in which her conscious died and sleep took over.

* * *

Mathias watched the Hungarian until she fell asleep. He slowly combed a hand through his hair, letting out a deep breath. He looked around at the room. His body was threatening to shut down on him as exhaustion took over. Mathias picked up the empty bottles and tossed them into the recycling bin while storing away the ones that were still usable. He placed a hand on the back of his neck as he scanned the room once more. Seeing everything was as clean as it could be at the moment, he started walking to a sofa in the corner of the room, a bit further off from where the Hungarian lay.

On his way, he carefully removed one of the blankets that Elizaveta was on top of and draped it over her body. The Viking stood back up, his eyes sweeping over the sleeping woman once more before he turned to the other sofa. He flung himself on to it, letting out another sigh. He glared at the ceiling, thinking. _What am I doing._ And then everything went black.

* * *

_**A/N:**_

_EHEHEHE, THIS CHAPTER. _  
_This chapter is probably the one that will make many fall in love with this pairing...or not. Depends on the person._

_Also, we decided to combine this chapter with the next one, because the original chapter 8 would have been too short. Be happy. :'D_

_It's very obvious that both Hungary's Hun and Denmark's Viking sides come out in this chapter. It might seem like it makes them (or just Hungary?) pretty out of character, which we think can be disapproved of, but...we personally think that's the way they should act when they're in Hun!/Viking!mode. Though we've been told they aren't OOC at all so. . .that's good to know. :'D_

_Also, lots of mood swings. We know that we keep doing this throughout the RP -we're not too fond of the mood swings, but they have/Hungary has a good reason to have them in our opinion._


	10. Chapter 9

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 9**

* * *

Elizaveta grumbled as she began to wake up to the smell of wine. She slowly opened her eyes, blinking a few times to clear away the blurriness of her vision, and noticed a different ceiling than she usually saw. Sitting up suddenly, she had a moment of head rush and sat still for a few seconds to see if it went away, in which it luckily did. The Hungarian then scanned her surroundings, realizing that she had fallen asleep on a couch and that she wasn't in her bed back in her home. _Oh, that's right, I'm at..._ Elizaveta turned her head to see Mathias, who was sleeping quite peacefully, in the corner of the room on another couch. _How did I end up sleeping on the couch? Rather, how did we end up sleeping on couches? I should have asked for a bed._ She then realized that she enjoyed seeing the Nordic sleep soundly, but why, she did not know.

The Hungarian slid sideways to sit in the sofa properly, also setting aside the blanket that had kept her warm throughout the night. She noticed something different about her hands - they were a bit stiffer. Her eyes peered down at her hands to see bandages, dotted with blood here and there. She started removing the bandages, unveiling graceful hands that had been ruined with many but tiny scars. _...What...happened to me?_

Elizaveta stared her hands for a while longer before standing up. Her legs felt even stiffer, as if they were never used in years. Again, she looked around, and this time noticed a pile of glass shards on the counter, with a rather terrible stain on the floor. _...Oh my god. That's right; I was drinking last night, wasn't I? And Mathias was telling me a story, and..._ She found that she was stuck at that point and shook her head. _I can't remember the rest. I have a feeling that I shouldn't, either._ The stain looked too dry to mop up, but it certainly reeked with the smell of wine.

Elizaveta ambled over to a nearby window, wondering what time it was. The sun was still awakening, indicating that it was early in the morning. She measured the position of the star to approximate what time it was, and how long she slept for. _8 A.M...I'm not too tired, but I did sleep longer than I usually do._ She then snatched another look at Mathias, again admiring his content expression. _I wonder when he'll wake up._

* * *

Mathias mumbled in his sleep, switching positions several times before finally opening his eyes, though slowly. He blinked a few times. _What..._ He realized he was on the sofa, and got up, though ended up immediately placing a hand to his head. _Owww._ He shook his head, hoping to shake off the lingering ache. It shouldn't be hard-he had drunk much more than he had that previous night, so he shouldn't even experience much of a hangover. He lifted his arms above his head, yawning and stretching. Mathias blinked some more as he tried to remember what happened.

His eyes went and looked over at the Hungarian. That's right. She was over. He was telling her a scary story, she freaked and broke a bottle..._oh god_. The memories of the night came flooding back. Due to his usual high alcohol intake, he was cursed with not having much of a problem of remembering events when he was drunk, unless he had over five bottles of beer. He swallowed. Surely Elizaveta didn't remember? Or if she did...

The Viking pushed the thoughts to the back of his head. He smiled at the Hun. _She looks pretty even right after she wakes up..._ He mentally kicked himself. _Snap out of it._ "Good morning." Mathias laughed. "Looks like we ended up just knocking out here, huh..."

* * *

"Ah," Elizaveta said, rather embarrassed to have Mathias catch her staring at him once he woke up. However, he looked rather...preoccupied with something. Setting that aside, Elizaveta gave way a smile that adorned her face as she chirped, "Good morning. And yes, it...looks like we did."

Her eyes wandered back to the couch she slept on, staring at it for a few seconds. "I think it's about eight in the morning. It's actually really clear outside right now, unlike last night." She clearly remembered the rain and thunder that spooked her, but for some reason she could have sworn that there was loud howling at some point during the night. At a quieter level, Elizaveta murmured, "I should head back home soon." _And visit Roderich, for that matter; I should tell him that I'm fine now._ She hoped that Mathias wouldn't bring up the topic of breakfast, not wanting to burden him any more. Seeing that wine stain on the floor already worried her enough of what she, Mathias, or the both of them did.

* * *

Mathias yawned again, though this time burying his mouth into his arm. _Uggh. I was never much of a morning person._ Mathias would have liked to lie back down and sleep some more, but he had a guest over. He looked outside the window and nodded in agreement. "The weather never can never make up it's mind." He laughed again, softly, trying _not_ to remember the night before.

He slowly got up off the sofa, stretching once more. "Oh," he hesitated. "Yeah, since you have other things to care to..." He trailed off, rubbing his eyes to try and get the sleep out of them. "You should probably eat something before heading back, though." The Viking headed to the kitchen without waiting for approval from the Hun. He himself wasn't very hungry, but he might as well show some manners.

* * *

Elizaveta mentally pouted. _Of course he would notice those things. I guess I shouldn't hope that he'll forget how to be nice._ She noticed that Mathias seemed to acting more strangely than usual - did something happen while they got drunk? _I really hope not,_ Elizaveta prayed.

There was no doubt about it that she had forgotten everything that happened last night - no matter how many times she thought about it, her thoughts always rammed into a wall and just couldn't get past it. The Hungarian was curious to be reminded of what happened and was very tempted to ask Mathias, but figured that it would be too awkward. _...I guess it really is better to not get curious about it. I'll end up killing myself if I do._

"Ah, I'll be fine," Elizaveta insisted. "You've already done enough for me; I should decline at least once." She glanced at the wine stain again, concerned, then back at Mathias. The Hun noticed that a few of his shirt's buttons had become loose and found that strange since she recalled clearly that he was properly dressed before. As best as she could, the Hungarian shoved away her perverted thoughts. Elizaveta headed straight for the exit so that Mathias wouldn't start cooking, keeping an eye on him as she did.

* * *

Mathias glanced over at Elizaveta. "Nonsense. At least take something for the road." As he spoke he quickly put together a typical breakfast item consisting of a crossaint, sliced cheese, and strawberry jam. He wrapped it up in a napkin and poured some chilled coffee into a portable cup. "I'd feel like a bastard if I let you leave on an empty stomach." Mathias walked towards the Hungarian, forcing the two items into her hands with a smile.

He was trying so hard, _so hard_, not to think of the night before, though the lingering smell of wine didn't help. _I'm going to have to clean that the moment she gets out of here._ The Dane hadn't noticed that his shirt was partially open at first, but soon realized it. _That's right..._ He mentally shook away any thought. _Please don't remember anything... _

But was that what he really wished for? Mathias hoped in the back of his mind-just a little-that maybe Elizaveta would remember. But no, not now.  
His only remaining thought was what would happen if Roderich found out-after all, Gilbert had been there the day before. He would probably tell the Austrian that Elizaveta was at the Viking's home. _Great._ He once again pushed away the thought of possible events and smiled at the Hungarian again.

"It was a pleasure to spend time with you."

* * *

Elizaveta sighed audibly, staring at the breakfast the Dane had given her. _Mathias, you're going to kill me if you keep up with this._ She refused to leave with the food, even though that could be viewed as disrespectful or could hint that she disliked Danish foods (which she knew that Mathias wouldn't consider - that dinner yesterday was _delicious_). "No, really, I'll be fine. I'm not all that hungry anyways." The woman grabbed Mathias' wrist and turned her hand over, palm side up, and returned the foods, allowing herself to be incredibly stubborn. "And thank you so much. I really enjoyed myself here." _Even if I don't remember half of what happened._

Elizaveta started out the door before Mathias could object again, but suddenly her body tingled. She noticed that her heart started aching a bit and was surprised to feel that way, because that meant that she was sad to leave. Why..._no, I have to leave_._ I'm sure Mathias has some issues to resolve with the other Nordics, and I need to relieve Roderich._ Her confidence regenerating, the Hungarian finally opened the door and-

"_S-Szent_ marhaság!" Elizaveta shrieked, her body tensing up like a frightened cat. She found Gilbert, once again, standing too close to the doorway - he looked like a _zombie_. His arms cuddled himself as he shivered and sniffed continuously, his red eyes saggy and tired.

"Fuck, Elizavetaaa~!" Gilbert moaned, followed by a sneeze. Elizaveta was too stoned to move, letting Gilbert's germs spray over her body. "M-Mathias, I'm really sorry, I'm seriously not going to pick a fight or ask for land or any kind of crap like that, but when I left your gigantic castle last night, water was _dumped_ all over my body and I really couldn't go back to West's, so then I came back inside just to sit around and sleep in the hallways, but then-" -The Prussian paused to shiver greatly and catch a breath, groaning a _fuuuuck_ afterwards- "the hallways were _damn_ scary with all that whistling and the thunder - not to mention it was like _Antarctica_ - that I started trying to find you two and on the way here, there were _god damn traps_ EVERYWHERE." Finally completing his run-on sentence, Gilbert lifted a leg, showing off his foot that had several spear heads piercing through his boot. "Seriously, Matt, is this a fucking maze with a shitload of levels to kill intruders?" He then hungrily stared at the croissant, and uttered at a lower voice, "Man, I'm hungry, too. Hey, Elizavetaaa, you'll take care of me, riiiight?"

* * *

Mathias frowned at Elizaveta. _She'll never change._ She walked off before he had the chance to shove the food back in her hands. He noticed her pause-if only for a fraction of a second-and couldn't help but feel a pang in his chest. _What..._ It confused him. The only time he had felt something like this before was...

"Dammit, Eli, just-" The Dane was cut off by the Hungarian's sudden shriek, which almost caused him to jump. Looking past her he was surprised to see Gilbert, especially in his condition. He let out a heavy sigh. _That bastard will never learn... _

A feeling of panic spread through Mathias's body when the Prussian mentioned looking for the two of them. _What if he had seen us?_ However, he was relieved at Gilbert's next few words, though he twitched when Gilbert whined Elizaveta's name. He looked Gilbert up and down-he certainly was a mess. Seeing as Elizaveta had refused the food he now held in his hands, he shoved it towards the Prussian, hoping it would shut him up.

"Wow, Gilbert." Mathias stared at him for a while longer, before bursting into laughter, tears at his eyes. Seeing the man like that was just too hilarious. "So Mister-Almighty got scared, huh? And I'm glad to see that." He gestured to Gilbert's boot. "At least I know the traps are in working condition." He smirked at the Prussian. "Of course-I don't enjoy _intruders_ in my home, thank you." Mathias closed his eyes and lifted a hand to his forehead, massaging his temples. "Seriously, how the hell does Ludwig manage to survive with you around?"

* * *

Gilbert's eyes sparkled in delight. "_FUCK YES._ I LOVE YOU." Being the typical Prussian with absolutely no manners, he literally stuffed his mouth with the croissant, bit off half of it, and chewed a few times before throwing in the rest. (On the meanwhile, Elizaveta had been regaining her normal self until her cheeks flushed from thinking about Mathias and Gilbert...oh god, how she wished that to happen. Luckily the Prussian was too busy with his long-awaited breakfast.)

While breaking down the second half of the Danish food in his mouth, Gilbert mumbled, "H-Hey, shut uph. I neffer liffed dis culosh to da shee. Mait get shum sorf'o shunami 'n drown." (Translation: H-Hey, shut up, I never lived this close to the sea. Might get some sort of tsunami and drown.) Gilbert smirked, snickering a _kesesesese_. Finally, he swallowed to clear his mouth. "Out of all things for a Viking to die from."

He moved aside the daydreaming Elizaveta, who happened to start snapping out of it once she was disturbed. "West is a man, he can handle anything." Bending his knee a few times to test it, Gilbert started hopping, then grasped Elizaveta's shoulders while screaming (with incredible exaggeration), "_AGHHHHHHHHHHH, DAMMIT._ These spears, they huuuurt! Oh, Lizzy, you _have_ to take care of me. I'm too wounded to do so myself and I'm sure women are the best at treating oth-"

Gilbert wailed loudly as Elizaveta ripped out the spear heads in his foot. Tears welled up in his eyes as he stared at the Hungarian, absolutely scared to death again. "_FUCK._ Why do you have to be so cruel...?"

"Well, problem solved," Elizaveta muttered, crossing her arms.

* * *

Mathias watched Gilbert scarf down the food, amused. "I know." he replied to Gilbert's confession, jesting. The Dane crossed his arms, cocking an eyebrow at the Prussian. "Oh, is that what it was? Well, we don't get tsunamis here-and _Vikings_ know how to deal with the water very well, thank you, so no death by rain for us." He snickered, shaking his head. "Maybe if you weren't being such an idiot yesterday, you would have saved yourself from all this trouble."

The Dane looked at the Hungarian, who seemed a bit dazed. _What's on her mind?_ Mathias returned his attention to Gilbert. "Thankfully he is...unlike _someone_." He cringed at the Prussian's scream, which he detected as being an attempt to win Elizaveta's sympathy. "Just proved my point." The Dane muttered, watching on as Gilbert clung to the woman.

He burst into laughter once again when the Hun "helped" Gilbert out. _One problem of many._ "Dude, seriously, when are you ever going to learn?" Shaking his head again, Mathias glanced back in his house with a sigh. "I guess I'm obligated. Come in and get yourself cleaned up-though it would actually be a pretty good idea to send you home like that." He leaned against the frame of the door, pretending to be in deep thought, deciding what to do with the Prussian. _Dammit, I just want him to go away. _

* * *

A mix of a smile and smirk appeared on Elizaveta's face when she heard Mathias' laughter. Again, she found it to be heartwarming; if only her life was as happy as his. "Apparently, he won't learn," the Hungarian responded for the Prussian, "Ever."

Gilbert, ignoring what the Hun had just said, moved his now free foot in circles and grimaced as he felt the pain run through his body. "Awesome. Time to take over this god damn cast- er, I mean, chill around a nice, comfy home with a wonderful atmosphere," Gilbert said, eying Mathias to see if he would give away a deathly glare. Not willing to wait for a response, he began limping off to the nearest restroom with a shower, but then paused beside a counter.

"Hey, why does is smell like wine?" The albino peered down at the floor to see a tainted floor. "Well, someone's been drinking, _kesesese_. Oh hey..." He further explored the scene - pillows and blankets on the sofa, a book on the floor, a pile of glass shards...Gilbert was totally getting this scene. A smile crept onto his face; Elizaveta did not like where this was going. "That's right, Liz - you had to stay here overnight, didn't you? Why of all places did you sleep on the sofa?" An offending laugh escaped from Gilbert's throat as he jumped back over to Mathias as he whispered to him (but purposely loud enough for Elizaveta to hear) with an arm against the Nordic's shoulder, "So how was it?"

_Oh my god,_ Elizaveta thought, horrified. _Mathias, don't tell him. Don't tell him. He'll tell Roderich everything that I have no memory of._

* * *

"I can see that." Mathias replied, chuckling. He followed Gilbert into his home, shooting the Prussian a glare, knowing very well that he would have to keep an eye on him. "Try taking over this castle, and there's more where that came from." The Dane gestured to the spear heads.

Mathias nearly felt his heart come to a halt when the injured man paused. _Shit_. He hadn't thought that Gilbert would have even bothered looking around, or for that matter make any connection. He narrowed his eyes upon hearing the Prussian's laugh. The Viking stole a quick glance at Elizaveta. _She doesn't remember a thing... _

"Yes, she did have to stay the night." The Dane answered for the Hungarian. _Quick, Mathias, think._ "The storm was taking a toll on the house-the central room is the only one that has back up electricity. So we ended up just knocking out on the _sofas_." The Dane made sure to emphasis the plurality of "sofa". He knew that if Gilbert got any other idea...well, he didn't want to linger on the thought.

He cocked an eyebrow at Gilbert. "How was what? The wine? It was delicious, if you must know."

* * *

Gilbert raised an eyebrow, amused. "Uh huhhhh," he slowly said, displaying disbelief. He wanted to know more. There was something behind this, and he was determined to find out what it was. Smirking, he leaned in a bit closer (Elizaveta tried her best to refrain taking out her camera here), further asking the Dane questions, as he was not satisfied with the man's answer: "Not the taste of the wine, dumbass. What happened _there_?" His hand stretched out to gesture to not just the wine stain, but the book and the shattered glass as he eyed the Hun. "Liz's hands have cuts all over them and there's broken glass. Got somethin' going on last night?"

Elizaveta caught Mathias' worried glance, in which she wore the same expression in response. _I have no idea what's going on and I don't know what to say. Now I_ really _don't want to know what happened here last night, but Mathias seems to remember - he's just refusing to tell the truth._ Silently, Elizaveta thanked the taller nation for keeping his mouth shut about last night's events, hoping that he would continue to stay that way. When Gilbert mentioned about her hands, the woman examined them again, pondering about what she had done. "Mathias," she quietly uttered out of concern.

* * *

_Fucking hell._ Mathias had to do his best not to tense up as the Prussian leaned in closer, knowing it would only confirm Gilbert's suspicions. His voice remained cool and steady as he kept his eyes locked on the Prussian. "If by "going on" you mean a frightened Elizaveta accidentally dropping a wine bottle due to the book suddenly falling off the counter due to a loud boom of thunder, then yes, we did." He threw Gilbert a smirk. As long as he kept this up, the Prussian would have to give up on prying for any more details. Besides, Mathias was telling the truth-sure, Elizaveta had thrown the bottle, but that wasn't important.

"Eli tried cleaning up the broken glass and ended up tripping and getting glass shards in her hands." He nodded towards the Hungarian. "Which explains the cuts. Anything _else_ you need to know?" Mathias narrowed his eyes, hoping Gilbert would let go of the subject.

* * *

Gilbert blinked a couple of times, rather surprised. Suddenly, he started laughing. "Elizaveta? _Frightened_? Are you kidding me? She's a _fucking Hun_ for God's sake, how the hell would a lightning strike scare her? I mean, yeah, fine, whatever, I got scared too...but still, _her_ of all people?" He sent a smirk at Elizaveta, who reciprocated a Hun glare. The albino frowned, knowing that he shouldn't continue on with this. "W-Well, I guess that makes sense. Heh, I would have enjoyed seeing that. Should've recorded her, Matt."

As Mathias was reiterating the things she _did_ remember, she realized that everything he just said couldn't be falsified. However, Elizaveta was more than glad to know that Mathias didn't say more than he needed to (and thanked herself for her manliness that scared away almost everything). She watched Gilbert limp away again, this time really heading for the shower.

"Alright, off to shower I go. Don't miss me too much and try not to peek in to steal a glimpse of my sexy body, okay?" Gilbert twisted his head around to face Elizaveta in particular, a smirk creeping along his lips again. _I'm soooooo telling Roderich that Liz stayed over night at this guy's house. Man, I can't wait to see the look on his face! Kesesesese~_ As the Prussian made his temporarily leave into the restroom, the Hungarian leaned her back against the door, shutting it lightly as she sighed in relief. _Oh my god. I'm going to kill Gilbert with my own hands someday._

* * *

"Unfortunately, I didn't have a videocamera available." Mathias replied with a grin. _Good, he's shutting up. _  
The Dane watched Gilbert limp off, snickering at the Prussian's comment. "We'll try our best, bastard. Now get yourself cleaned up." He shook his head upon the closing of the restroom door, sighing. _He's going to tell Roderich, no doubt... _

Mathias glanced over at the Hungarian, who looked as relieved as he was at the moment. He shot her a grin. "Man, we just have no luck do we? First Roderich, now Gilbert..." He hoped that Elizaveta wouldn't suddenly get insulted or find him recalling the encounter with her ex-husband offensive. The Viking laughed, though there was a tinge of awkwardness to it. "So, uh...are you going to wait for him," Mathias jerked his thumb in the direction of the restroom, "...or what?"

* * *

Elizaveta sighed as she stared up at the ceiling. "It seems to be that way. I've found a way to 'talk' to Roderich now, but Gilbert is just being Gilbert." The Hungarian pushed herself off of the wall, thinking; she would leave, but she didn't trust the Prussian to behave, even though Mathias could take care of him well enough. Then she came upon the realization that Mathias could end up killing him if Gilbert did end up doing something stupid again, just as he almost did last night. _...No, I can't risk leaving now._

Elizaveta turned her head to look at Mathias as he laughed - she could tell that he felt out of place, but he had a reason to be. "I guess I'll stay here until he leaves, if that isn't a burden on you." The other Scandinavian countries popped up in her mind - _I wonder why they left him here and how long he'll be like this for._ "If he's under my watch, he's less likely to do anything...strange."

_Wait a minute, Gilbert can do_ more _idiotic things while I'm around just for laughs...dammit. Let's hope that doesn't happen._

* * *

Mathias shook his head. "No, no burden at all." _That's kind of a lie._ He realized that Elizaveta had picked up on some hint that _something_ had happened last night between the two of them, and was quite glad that she wasn't questioning him about it. Things were awkward enough for him as it was. "And Gilbert will always do strange things, that's a given." he mused. _And really idiotic ones,_ he thought, thinking about the day before when he had almost lashed out at the Prussian.

Mathias looked over at all the things that had hinted to Gilbert that something happened, hoping that he himself wasn't forgetting too much from the night before. Sure, some things were a blur, but for the most part he could call upon his memory. But he didn't want to, not now, when the Hungarian was still in his house. He looked back at Elizaveta. "Are you sure you don't want something to eat? Now that you'll be stayin' for a bit longer..." He wandered over to the kitchen, waiting for her response.

And then the telephone rang.

Mathias looked warily at the phone as it rang. Who could that be... He didn't really want to talk to anyone at that moment, but he guessed he best pick it up, in case it was an emergency. "Excuse me, Eli." The Dane let the phone ring once more before picking it up.

"_Hej_?"  
"_Hei_, Mathias." He twitched upon hearing the voice on the other end of the line. _What does he want..._  
"Oh, Eirik. What's up?" The Dane kept his voice cool. He didn't want to sound excited that the Norwegian had called him (though he was a bit happy), because that would make him seem desperate.  
"I was just calling to let you know that Valdi and I might be paying Tino a visit...y'know, since..." Mathias' expression turned grim. He nodded, realized he was on the phone, and verbally responded.  
"Oh, yeah..."  
"So we'll be out for a couple of more days-ack, what? Yeahyeah, I know, Valdi-so just don't get yourself into some mess, okay?" The Norwegian's voice was as emotionless as ever, but the Dane could tell that he was being serious. He sighed. _Too late for that._  
"Yeah yeah, Eirik, geez. Thanks for lettin' me know, at least."  
"Okay. Talk to you later then." He hung up before Mathias could say bye, but the Dane was used to the behavior of his childhood friend.

_Great. I thought they might have stopped over tonight, at least...now who knows how long they'll end up staying at Tino's place._ The Viking sighed again and put down the receiver, glaring at it for a while. _Berwald just better not show up to demand anything from me. At least I get more time to myself. especially after..._ After a few moments of silence, the Dane stretched, turning back to Elizaveta with the usual humor on his face.

"So, breakfast, yes or no?"

* * *

Elizaveta opened her mouth to again to refuse Mathias' offer, but neither fortunately nor fortunately, the phone rang. She nodded in understanding to the Dane, shutting her mouth and giving him privacy. Even though she tried her best to filter out Mathias' conversation, her ears picked up every word Mathias said and even made out the voice on the other side of the phone (though she couldn't recognize who it was until Norway was mentioned).

When his conversation ended, Elizaveta caught the Nordic staring at the phone. His expression seemed to show off a frustrated and pouty one - it was cute, but worrisome at the same time. _I really want to help him. He's done so much for me...I'd like to return the favor somehow._ Summoning courage, Elizaveta decided to ask, completely ignoring and avoiding Mathias' question about breakfast, "I don't want to barge into your privacy or anything, but are you okay, Mathias? You really seem down when it comes to the other Nordics..."

* * *

Mathias blinked at Elizaveta's response. _Am I okay? I wish I knew the answer to that._ Still, the Dane couldn't help but feel something-though he couldn't quite place what it was-at the warmth and concern in the Hungarian's voice. He shrugged.

"I'm fine," Mathias hope his voice didn't give anything away. "There are bound to be issues here and there. Right now things are just sorta...rough." He gave the Hun a small smile. "We Nordics have been through thick and thin together. Things will get solved...eventually. But I appreciate the concern."

The Viking got himself some water. _My head..._ It was starting to ache again. He leaned against the counter as he drank, putting it down with more force than he initially wanted. He looked over at Elizaveta. "And remember what I said yesterday? Shit happens. No point in getting worried over it."

* * *

Elizaveta's eyes knitted, still concerned. _He doesn't seem so certain about that._ Though she found this awkward to say, especially to someone she wasn't close to, Elizaveta offered, "If you ever need help from someone else, you can always come to me." Suddenly, the Hungarian became angry at herself. _I did NOT just say that. Mathias, a_ Viking_, needing_ help_? He's an independent nation, too; why the hell did I just tell him that?_ Sometimes Elizaveta thought she had some kind of mental illness.

The Hungarian eyes moved over to the hallway, noticing that the Prussian had finished showering. He wore simple clothes - a white collared shirt and a pair of pants - and cradled his coat and boots in his arms as he hopped out of the restroom, which leaked out hot steam. "Remind me next time to never get wounds wet with hot water," Gilbert muttered, feeling numbed pain in his foot. He then lifted his head up to see Mathias and Elizaveta looking rather...tensed. Shrugging it aside, Gilbert threw himself onto the couch, his legs slung over the arm of it. "Soooo, got some beer?"

Gilbert's request added on to Elizaveta's anger. She sneered with her arms crossed, "You know, I'm not leaving Mathias' house until _you_ do. You're going to do something stupid and someone's going to get killed if you stay here - and, really, drinking beer in the _morning_?"

* * *

Mathias looked at Elizaveta, a mix of emotions swarming in his chest. "Oh, uh...thanks. I'll be sure to keep that in mind." He managed to force out eventually. _Funny. A Hun offering a Viking help. That would have people questioning things right there._ The Dane couldn't help but feel slightly open-he had obviously just shown a weak side if she was offering him help. As a Viking, he prided himself on being strong. Hell, he could only recall crying once in his life, and he mentally frowned at the memory. He shaked his head and shoved any feelings of sudden animosity to the back of his mind.

"His blood is made of beer, what do you expect?" Mathias laughed. Though the same could be said for himself. "And I thought it was common sense not to use hot water on wounds." The Dane pushed himself off the counter and resisted against putting a hand to his slightly aching head. "Eli, he's always doing something stupid. He'll only get killed if he makes a stupid request like yesterday." Mathias sighed.

* * *

Gilbert laughed heartily, but then the laughter faded away. "I was holding up my leg in the shower and I lost balance, okay? Why don't you try that someday?" He frowned as he glared at his foot; _Matt even ignored my request. Jeez, what an ass. He's always treating Liz with respect and what do I get? Shit, that's it. Seriously, he's treating her as if he was...Roderich, or some- _

And then it hit him - rather than mess around with two incredibly dangerous nations, Gilbert decided to get over to Roderich's house and share all the wonderful stories he had about his ex-wife. He was a pussy who couldn't defend himself, after all. Quickly, Gilbert sat up, slipped on his old socks and then his boots. Elizaveta detected Gilbert's actions, knowing that it usually wasn't like him to do things so suddenly, and watched him intently. The Prussian got to his feet and ambled over to Elizaveta, smirking.

"Alright, out of the way, I have some work to do."

Elizaveta didn't budge. She could read his eyes and knew that he was going to do something mischievous _outside_ Mathias' home. "_What the hell._ No." Great. _He can cause trouble anywhere._

* * *

"Believe me, I've tried plenty of times. It's called leaning against the wall." Mathias smirked at the Prussian. But then he noticed the sudden change in Gilbert's expression and his sudden urgency to leave. _This can't be good._ The Dane had known the Prussian for a long time, and if by now he couldn't tell what that mischievous look in his eye meant, he might as well just give up his status as a nation.

"Work to do? All of a sudden? But I thought you wanted a beer?" Mathias jested. He kept his tone light and humorous, but his thoughts were the opposite. The Dane's mind wandered briefly to the night before, trying to remember his drunken state. _Well, when I was drunk, I actually would have promoted that this guy go do what I think he's going to do...but now..._ The Viking had to admit, he sort of-_just a tiny bit_-wanted Roderich to find out. It would make things a bit more exciting, as selfish as it was. But then he realized it would end up straining relations and that was something no nation wanted, especially after the Dane had built up the reputation of being a peaceful country. _Except when shit goes down. _

* * *

"Nah, I'll just get some later," Gilbert replied with obvious disinterest. He was too focused on how much fun it would be to bother Roderich and see that incredulous expression on his face. _Oh, you two, you've made my day._ He found his eyes to be locked onto Elizaveta's stingy ones, but didn't really react - he just waited for her to step aside so that he could leave. Growing impatient, Gilbert decided to use force and grabbed the Hungarian as he said, "It would be a lot _easier_ and _nicer_ if you could just let me leave-"

Elizaveta shouted a "No!" and tightly squeezed his wrists, weakening his grasp, and shoved him away from the door. Gilbert let out a _tch_, rubbing and twisting his wrists to ease them of their pain. "Man, first my foot, now my wrists. Why do you have to be so cruel, Liz?" He sighed as his eyes wandered off to a nearby window, with a nice view of the morning sun. His eyes then widened in alarm and his arm shot out to point at the window. "Oh my god, is that _Ludwig and Feliciano making out on Mathias' porch?_"

Elizaveta, completely thrown off, immediately dashed to the window to look outside, in great hope to snatch good photos of the two of them together, not aware of the consequences that her actions came with. _It'll make my collection of pictures of the two even bigger! I hardly even have any of them together, and-_ Her ecstatic expression swiftly mutated into a monstrous one as she realized she was fooled; twirling around, she found Mathias' door wide open and Gilbert gone.

Oh, that set her on fire. "That son of a bastard, wench, cunt, _faggot_-"

* * *

Mathias watched Elizaveta shove Gilbert back. _So she's thinking the same thing I am..._ He snickered as the Hun once again injured the Prussian. It made him wonder how many injuries that Gilbert must have received and was a bit surprised to _not_ see bruises all over his arms.

The Dane blinked in suprise at Gilbert's announcement, but caught himself before looking out the window. _Oh, that bastard, he knows her weak spot._ And it was good that it was only a distraction...who knew what Mathias would do if he actually found the two nations having some fun on his porch. He had to try his best not to burst into laughter at Elizaveta's reaction. _That's right...she's always had a strange fetish with boy on boy love...I almost forgot._

The Viking looked out the door, where the Prussian had managed to escape. He looked back at the Hun. "I didn't think you were that gullible..." He found her chain of curses amusing and pretty cute...and Mathias couldn't help it, he had to laugh.

* * *

Elizaveta hissed an _I'll kill him_, hoping that Gilbert would get caught in another of Mathias' traps on the way out. _He'll be stuck there - forever._ She knew well enough that she wouldn't be able to find Gilbert through that maze, even if she could chase after him for God knows how long. Hearing laughter, Elizaveta's head snapped up to see Mathias. She frowned and instinctively (but rather harshly) punched his face out of rage, again not thinking about the consequences. The Hungarian wouldn't be able to tolerate anyone for a while. "Shut up," she muttered, before deciding to walk - or rather, stomp - towards the door to leave the home, wearing a pouting face.

* * *

"_OWWW._ What the hell Eli-" Mathias rubbed his face after being punched. _Fucking hell, that_ hurt..._if she can get that enraged when she's sober..._ He shook the thought out of his head. Out of his own instinct, he reached out and grabbed Elizaveta by the wrist, effectively turning her around to face him. He had to admit that her pouting face and tantrum as a whole was pretty adorable-though damaging-and looked her in the eye. "_Lighten up._"

* * *

While madly walking out the door, Elizaveta felt a sudden pull on her wrist and twirled around, shocked that Mathias had grabbed her. His words seemed to sink into her as the blue shade of his intense eyes told her to calm down; she could feel her heart rate decrease dramatically and stared at him for a few seconds before looking down with dulled eyes at her confined wrist. The warmth of his hand was somehow nostalgic. "I'm sorry, Mathias. I'm really causing so much trouble - I should really leave now." Apparently, his words were much more than just calming: it had more of a guilty hit upon her. _Elizaveta, you're damaging yourself everywhere,_ she told herself.

* * *

Mathias looked down at the Hungarian, keeping eye-contact until she lowered her gaze. The Dane had to resist any selfish desire he felt at the moment. He let out a sigh. _She always blames herself._ He loosened his grip on her wrist, but still held it. "No, you're not causing trouble. Believe me, I'd rather have all of this than have to sit and stare at the ceiling all day." _And night._ "Just lighten up a lil', you always get so tensed up." He laughed. "Though, then again, I wouldn't get the entertaining spectacle of you and Gilbert, would I?"

* * *

Elizaveta inhaled slowly, then exhaled at a faster rate to get the sensation of relief. _He's right. Gilbert's just being an ass all over again; I'm just not going to think about him and I'll be fine._ "If you say so." She flashed a smile, which then became another pout. "Entertaining spectacle, huh? I didn't come here to enterta-"

An epiphany arrived. A terrible epiphany.

Her thoughts and memories finally penetrated through the wall it had longed to break through, reliving the things that had happened last night: the scary story, the book's fall, the wine bottle throw, the bandaging of her hands, the teasing, and...the kissing. A shiver zipped down her back as the emotions she experienced ran through her once more like a haunting nightmare and a wonderful dream at the same time. Her addiction, her lust - _everything_ came back. _And she was longing for Mathias again._

Elizaveta had been staring at Mathias - or was showing that "thousand mile stare" - for a good minute as she retrieved her memories. She took a step backwards to slide out of his light grasp, realizing that she shouldn't be here, or else her life would be in jeopardy.

"Stay away," she whispered, almost without emotion.

* * *

**_A/N:_**

_DUNDUNDUN._

_Yes, this is how we get the roleplay going - make characters barge in on the two. It would get boring otherwise. And we apologize for more mood swings._

_If you guys didn't notice, this is the next day. After crashing on the sofas. Yes._


	11. Chapter 10

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 10**

* * *

Mathias' heart froze when Elizaveta cut off. He wanted to kick himself for using those words. _Or did he?_ He knew she was remembering-how couldn't she be with the way she stared at him? _That look..._ Mathias felt himself getting lost in her eyes, but tried to snap out of it. As she stared at him and remembered, he finally stopped resisting the memories and let them flood his mind again.

_Did we really do that...all of that?_ He couldn't deny that he had enjoyed it, as dangerous as it was. Mathias' selfish desire was getting a hold of him as he continued to look at the Hungarian standing in front of him. His fingers tingled at the feel of her wrist-her soft skin-escaping the grasp of his hand. The sound of her voice as she told him to stay away didn't help-one side of him wanted to comply with her wishes, the other wanted to do the opposite. He kept his eyes locked with the Hun, his gaze intense.

"Eli..." His voice was low, but strong. He didn't know what to say, or what to do, besides what the Viking in him wanted, which he was trying his best to ignore.

* * *

The Hungarian took yet another step back, this time with her other foot, in response to her nickname. _If that's what Gilbert ran off for...if that's what Gilbert assumed that happened here, and if he's really running off to Roderich to tell him...I'm done for._ Finally, her eyes sharply gazed at Mathias, displaying her ferocious Hun character, while her frown hardened on her lips. She was too hesitant to move - but she knew the exact reasons why she wanted to stay and run away at the same time, which caused her frozen position. With two wishes yanking at her, she had no idea what she could do at this point. Her heart seemed to sink dangerously as she uttered gravely, "You'll be the death of me."

* * *

Mathias watched Elizaveta further back away. Her gaze and words tore at his chest-but he couldn't tell if it was pain or pleasure that the cuts left behind. There was a time that he lived for danger, the thrill of the adventure, and that was coming back. He hated himself for it, but the Viking was actually _enjoying_ this. He narrowed his eyes, keeping hold of the intense connection with the Hun's eyes. Mathias wanted to do so many things at that moment, none of which he could deem as the right thing to do.

"Will I?" He whispered back, his voice almost cruel. "Depends on your definition of death."

* * *

The tone of voice Mathias used mentally drew her to him. Elizaveta couldn't resist it, but at the same time, she was flooded with satisfaction, pleasure, and happiness; these feelings strangely clung onto her while her 'pure' side fought to gain dominance again. However, her Hunnic nature continued taking over her like an unstoppable plague. Her left foot slowly but painfully slid across the flooring, this time returning the Viking rather than away, as her green eyes narrowed and lost its innocent illumination. "You will be the death of me," Elizaveta reiterated, her voice just as cruel, "in every way, _Viking_." Her tongue accented her final word unnecessarily and excessively, as if to feed Mathias' ego to further invite his deadly character into the world again.

* * *

Mathias took a small step towards the woman. Her words further fueled his inner desire, the sinister ring to her words pleasing, and the way she had said _Viking_...his inner struggle was becoming useless, futile. His eyes turned a deep shade a blue, filled with the cruelty of his Viking days. He let a smirk play on his lips, responding, his voice lower, sinister. "In _every_ way? Is that so, _Hun_?"

Before he knew what he was doing, before he could control himself, the Viking side of him overrode any resistance to it, and Mathias had the Hun's back against the wall, his arms on either side of her, hands against the wall, so that he towered over her as he leaned in. Whatever he had tried to keep locked up away in him, it had been released.

* * *

Elizaveta felt her heart burn as Mathias spoke with a chilling voice, which made her feel more alive and ate at her at the same time. His words, so full of power when it vibrated, turned her inside out; the mask that once veiled her was no longer there. Her life as a Hun had returned after being trapped for hundreds of years, and she wasn't afraid to show it.

The Hun did not answer immediately after the Viking's questioning, knowing that he would make a move on her. A loud bump rumbled from the wall as she was pinned there, her eyes never leaving the man's, enjoying the sight of the Viking she had wished to witness. Elizaveta raised her chin to meet Mathias' face. "That's right," she confirmed. "So how are you going to kill me first - _if you can_?" The Hun was implying that she wanted to measure Mathias' power as a Viking by challenging him and using her own destructive strength.

* * *

Mathias looked viciously-_hungrily_-at Elizaveta. His gaze inspected her, like a predator observing its prey. She had let go of her innocent facade. The cutting edge of her words, their tone, their meaning-she had finally revealed her true self, much like he had. _And he loved it._

"_If I can_?" The Viking let out a sinister laugh as he leaned closer to the Hun, his gaze still peering down at her. "It seems I've already killed part of you. How shall I kill you next?" His voice was deep, strong, threatening, yet at all the same sadistically seducing. He applied more pressure against the Hun, making it impossible for her to escape his grasp, and leaned in to place his mouth near her left ear. His whisper dripped in venom. "There are a number of ways."

* * *

Elizaveta was greatly enlightened by Mathias' laugh. It was so warm, yet _so deadly and delicious_ that she could drink the venom that came out of his words. As of now, there wanted nothing more than to hear and feel Mathias' Viking demeanor in her body, whether or not he was directly contacting her. She seemed to hold in her breath as the towering Nordic pressed against her, but didn't fight back at all as she was playing the game with him again. _Nowhere to get away from Mathias? This will be a nice challenge._ The tips of her lips curled up into yet another smirk.

"Or did you really?" the Hun questioned, looking out through the corners of her eyes. "Surprise me. The more creative, the better." Her left hand barely managed to wriggle out of the surrounding pressure so that her index finger and thumb could lightly cup Mathias' chin, her index finger teasingly stroking the area beneath his chin. Elizaveta slightly turned her head to get a view of Mathias' face, showing off her smirk.

* * *

Mathias' skin shuddered with pleasure at the Hungarian's teasing touch. He looked over at the Hun, and oh how he wanted to wipe that smirk off her face and replace it...with what, he wasn't too sure, but his desires were eating him alive from the inside out. "You and surprises." The Viking returned her smirk. _You don't even want to know the things I want to do to you right now._

He slightly moved his head back, so as to escape from Elizaveta's touch, and bit gently down on her finger. "Creative, huh?" Mathias' voice was smug, deadly. He eyed for a little longer, before taking his right hand to play with the shoulder of her dress. The Viking pressed more against the Hun and buried his face in her neck, ravenously kissing and biting it.

* * *

Elizaveta winced lightly when the Nordic bit her, though her smirk remained on her face. However, her expression faded as Mathias began to toy with her dress and nip at her neck. Moaning once, her lips parted to release uneven but heavy breaths while her arms made way around Mathias' head, one hand at the back of his head to cling onto him as if for security, and the other clawing at his shirt on his back (though she wondered how they were able to do all of this with their wide height difference). Elizaveta's head leaned away from Mathias' to further expose her neck; his warm breath against her skin there made her shiver in delight.

Her legs began to lose their strength, causing the Hun to gradually slide down against the wall. A "heh" escaped from her throat as Elizaveta continued to allow Mathias to play with her, finding the right chance to make a move on him.

* * *

Elizaveta's moan and breaths and clawing only further fueled Mathias, as he continued to go up and down her neck kissing and nipping, his own breath becoming heavy. He smirked against her skin as she exposed more of her neck, which the Viking made use of immediately.

He could feel her losing her strength, feel her sliding down against the wall. His right hand moved from the Hun's shoulder down to her thigh, hitching up her leg to his hip as he pressed her forcefully against the wall, his back curving to make up for the height difference. The Viking moved his left hand to the Hun's other shoulder, as if for support as he moved from her neck to her shoulder to her neck again, biting slightly harder and kissing more passionately (occasionally sliding his tongue up the length of her neck), his hunger only growing.

* * *

Elizaveta sunk to the floor until she slumped slightly on the floor, letting Mathias continue his display of affection until her arms withdrew from Mathias' body. Her legs, taking advantage of the hitch, rose up to the Nordic's broad shoulders and gave a powerful push upon them to force Mathias to sit up, making him draw away from her neck and the rest of her body. Her thighs were against each other to prevent the Dane to look up her dress (she experienced this too many times to forget to do that). There was no way that the Hun would let the Viking keep up with this.

"Tsk tsk," Elizaveta said, with her smirk decorating her face again. "Do you think that you'll get away with everything?"

* * *

Mathias felt the Hun's strong warrior legs push him back, separating him away from her skin that he had been throughly enjoying. He nearly frowned to her closed her thighs, but instead locked eyes with the Hun, her smirk tugging at his heart. He wanted to let go of any inhibition right there and then and tear her apart, but..._No, that's something I have to keep under control._ Or did he?

He returned her smirk with a devilish grin. "Getting away with everything?" He snickered. "I _do_ get away with everything."

* * *

Elizaveta lowered her legs, shifted around enough so that she now was sitting on them, and then leaned dangerously forward so that her face was a few inches away from his, testing his resistance. Her dark eyes mocked him; she doubted that he would able to hold back even for a minute. _This will be amusing to watch: a Viking struggling with his lust._ "No you don't," Elizaveta dared to say. "Not with a Hun."

* * *

Mathias' grin only widened at her words as his deep blue eyes narrowed, locked on the Hun's mocking ones. "Says you." he replied, his voice smug. His mouth longed to taste her again, his skin longed to press against her own, and it was driving him insane. _You haven't even had a taste of this Viking yet._

Unable to control his lust, he grabbed her and in one swift motion had her now pinned against the floor, his knees against the ground on either side of her, hands intertwined with hers. _No, not even a taste._

* * *

Elizaveta felt her body suddenly drop down uncontrollably as Mathias knocked her to the ground. Her back started hurting temporarily, but as a Hun, she was so used to getting bruises and wounds that this pain was absolutely _nothing_ to her. Her eyes had not left the Vikings' during her fall. Highly aware of what could happen next, Elizaveta began to keep track of Mathias' actions - no matter how small or hardly noticeable they were. Even though her she wanted to let Mathias do whatever he pleased, she had to resist; Roderich still had a place in her heart, and doing this was already damaging her love and bond with him that was able to stand for so long. _Still...our relationship...it seems so_ fake.

"Oh my. I thought you were a gentleman," the Hungarian said, grinning. Her legs shifted again, now between and under Mathias', to get into a more comfortable laying position. _Dammit, now he's really topping me._ "I guess I shouldn't be surprised; after all, Vikings are _terrible creatures_."

* * *

_Oh, she's too much._ Mathias smirked. "I'll be a gentleman when I want to be." He lowered his face, so that his eyes were looking directly into those of the Hun, their noses practically two centimeters apart. The way she emphasized, once again, on Vikings sent a shudder of pleasure down his spine. The monster inside him craved to do things to her, _so badly_. "And I can say the same thing about _Huns_." He snickered with a sinister edge. "I wonder which one of us is worse?" The Viking looked at her mockingly, breathing softly onto the Hun's lips as if to bait her.

* * *

Elizaveta irresistibly whiffed Mathias' breath; it smelled of alcohol and beer from last night, but was pleading her to give in. With much difficulty, the Hun had an internal struggle to move any closer to Mathias; she knew that once she got into something, she wouldn't be able to stop. She shot a glare at Mathias, aware that he intentionally did that to stimulate her. "When it's down to a man and a woman, the woman _always_ wins." Elizaveta grinned widely, awaiting Mathias' response.

_How long will I be doing this for?_ she wondered with curiosity and even a bit of worry.

* * *

The Viking smirked at the Hun's glare and cocked an eyebrow, amused by her reply. Mathias move slightly-just _slightly_-closer to Elizaveta. "Really? If that's the case..." The Dane released his right hand from the Hungarian's right and slowly traced it from her thigh up to her neck, following the curves of her body. His own eyes broke the lock they had been in and glanced down at her torso and above, which was all he could see in this position. When his eyes finally settled back into the lock with the Hun, Mathias' grinned, a devilish spark alight in his eyes, much like from the night before.  
"It doesn't seem like it from this position." His voice was smug, while at the same time seeping with lust. _Last night, you got your way._

* * *

A shiver swiftly zapped down her body, particularly the area where Mathias had outlined, as the Hun closed her eyes. He was so much of a teaser, but Elizaveta didn't object to it. She wanted this moment to last for as long as it could, to do whatever she wanted without anyone knowing but the two of them...but an image of Roderich seemed to glue to her thoughts. _Dammit...why do I have to be caught in between...?_ The woman's eyes reopened to see Mathias' eyes, so familiar yet so evil in their shade.

"That's because I'm letting you do this," Elizaveta explained, sensing his voice's lust for her. She propped onto her elbows, lifting her body and face by the slightest bit, decreasing the open air between their mouths. _Who's going to initiate it?_ "_I could usurp you whenever I want._"

* * *

Mathias caught his breath for a second when Elizaveta further diminished the space between them. His eyes lingered on her lips-her soft, luscious, _sweet_ lips-as he smiled in response to the Hun's claim. For a moment, the non-Viking side of Mathias tried to take over. _You shouldn't be doing this. Do you realize what you're doing?_ But it didn't take much to shove that away. His Viking side was too powerful, especially after being released after so many years. It wasn't going back now.

"How modest of you." He snickered. "You're letting me do this because you're enjoying it. You couldn't usurp me if you _tried_." He breathed in the Hungarian's scent. It was so intoxicating, so tempting, that Mathias decided to delve into what he knew would be difficult to get out of. The Viking pressed his lips against those of the Hun, and while otherwise he would have started the kiss gently, he viciously deepened the kiss, the beast in him in full control.

* * *

Before Elizaveta could respond, Mathias had trapped her into yet another kiss; her heart twisted greatly. _You're doing things behind Roderich's back._ But her Hun side shut away the thoughts about Roderich and focused on her desire for Mathias. She attempted to match the intensity of the kiss, not willing to be conquered so early. Her hands pushed her upper body off the floor to sit up properly before she got back aches (...but not like she would get any from this, anyways). The hands then gently set themselves onto the Viking's shoulders, pretending to give in, then suddenly and tightly squeezed them, which aided her in tossing Mathias onto the floor and placing herself above him - again. The Hungarian had broken the deep kiss in the process, though leaned her head towards Mathias' once more while hovering over him on her knees. Her golden brown hair dangled down her head, tickling - rather, teasing - the right side of Mathias' face.

"Don't underestimate me," she told him, her tone of voice ominous and devouring.

* * *

Mathias enjoyed Elizaveta's attempt to kiss back as viciously as he was kissing her as well as the feel of her hands on his shoulders, and let himself get lost in it. That however became his demise when before he knew it the two had switched positions, resembling much of what had happened the night before. The Viking's skin tingled as the Hun's hair brushed against his right cheek. _This is what I'm talking about._ Her voice had his skin crawling with immense pleasure as it ate away at him. He brought his hands up to rest on either side of her waist and smirked in response.

"Impressive." Mathias' eyes wandered again, drinking in the Hun's body. "But is that all you've got?"

* * *

Elizaveta grinned; she could tell that this was quite reminiscent of the night before, and Mathias had noticed the same thing. The Hun felt omnipotent to have overpowered the Viking here, even if this situation didn't tell much compared to a battle or war. She licked her lips in one swift motion of her tongue, smirking as she did so. _He'll hate me for that._ Her voice was menacing as she uttered, "I could do much more - you just don't know it." Her thumb brushed Mathias' lips several times, the rest of her fingers barely holding his face. "Would you like something better?"

* * *

_Oh, fuck you._ The Viking knew she was teasing him by licking her lips-and hell was it working. The feel of her fingers against his lips didn't help in the slightest. And her voice? _Delightful._ He was craving for more, more of everything that the Hun possibly had to offer. He replied, his voice indicating the degree of lust he was feeling. "Is that so? Give it your best shot, then, _Hun_." He drawled out the term, his eyes narrowing as he spoke. Mathias opened his mouth and bit on her fingers again, looking up at her menacingly.

* * *

Mathias' emphasis on her title and the bite aroused her Hunnic nature; her hand immediately swept down to his neck, her fingernails digging into his skin - Elizaveta wasn't even sure if she was going to pierce his skin there or even kill him at this rate, since she then picked up the tall Nordic just with that one hand, making him float above the floor. The Hungarian presented yet another deadly glare, and eventually growing tired of the weight straining her hand within seconds, tossed Mathias across the room, enough to cause him to skid against the ground. Her hand deftly reached up her dress, stopping around her thigh, to reveal a knife that had been hidden for the longest while as she strode over to the Dane. She wanted to hurt him - _hurt him so much_ - and engage in some sort of brawl just to see the Viking in battle and his full potential. _Only if I had my sword with me._

"If you don't fight back, then where's the fun in this? Can't 'give it my best shot' if you don't do something." That was an invitation intended to quench her thirst.

* * *

The Viking enjoyed the feel of the Hun's nails digging into his skin, as much as it stung. He was, however, surprised when she lifted him, and the next thing he knew he hit the floor again. His back sent signals of pain to his brain, which only fueled Mathias. He _wanted_ the pain, pain he hadn't felt in a long time.

Mathias looked up at Elizaveta, watching her hand, a smirk playing on his lips which only widened when he saw the knife. _So that's how she wants it._ He snickered. "True, mighty true." He slowly brought himself up into a sitting position, glancing at the knife once again before bringing his eyes back to her own."The fun is only beginning, dear."

In less than five seconds, the Viking had gotten up onto his feet, snatched the Hun's knife and turned her around, one arm holding her tightly against him so that her arms were trapped behind her back, pressed against his chest, while the hand of the other arm pressed the cool blade of the knife against her neck. Their position forced Elizaveta's head up as Mathias nearly had a choke hold on her, He nipped at her ear and whispered chillingly into it: "Well then..._give it your best shot._"

* * *

**_A/N:  
_**

_EHEHEHEHEH ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER._

_Sorry about that. :D  
_


	12. Chapter 11

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 11**

* * *

Mathias' words called out to her again, beckoning her to approach him. However, Elizaveta simply stood there, waiting for something to happen rather than initiating it herself. In a matter of seconds, Elizaveta felt her body move unwillingly, her knife robbed from her hand, as Mathias set her in yet another position in which she could not flee from his grasp. Her neck numbed from the cold metal of the knife. _That's more like it._

She quickly thought of the possible ways she could get out of this scenario. Many of those ways required her hands, but Mathias' grip on her there had them locked behind her back. Her legs weren't in a proper setting to do anything, either; she would just stumble over herself. A smirk appeared on her face as the Hun thought up of a different approach - her head turned around, in hopes that she wouldn't cut herself (though, deep down, she wanted that knife to make its mark on her - just to see Mathias' reaction), facing Mathias to seal their lips together again in an effort to distract him.

* * *

Mathias felt the slight movements that the Hungarian made as she tried to figure out how to escape. However, before he could make a remark she had managed to lock him into a kiss. _How devious._ The Dane smirked against the Hungarian's lips, but knew she was doing it to distract him. Trying his best not to give in, the arm that was around her waist, holding her to him, only tightened, and the knife blade still kept it's place on her neck, though not cutting her skin, as tempting as the Viking found the action to be. He deepened the kiss, putting more power into it, and pulled the Hun back with him as he brought his back against the wall for support. _Nice try._

* * *

When Mathias smirked and when the two of them started walking towards the wall, Elizaveta knew that her plan had failed; her neck was aching from the strain she had put on it to kiss Mathias and she attempted to withdraw from it, but the strength the Dane had put into the kiss prevented her from drawing away. Mathias' tightened grip on her arms wasn't doing much for her either. _Dammit._ However, as much as she cursed, Elizaveta was too pleased with this. Amazingly against her will, the Hungarian bit Mathias' lip, once again as an attempt to escape.

* * *

Mathias continued his tight hold on Elizaveta, fully enjoying the kiss they were sharing. When she bit his lip, he let out a light moan. _Talk about feisty._ However, being in the position they were, he still had full control, and bit her lip back. After keeping the kiss up for a bit longer, Mathias finally stopped, breathing heavily, before moving down to the Hungarian's neck (once more), starting to bite and kiss it again, though more viscously than before. He brought the flat edge of the knife up under the Hun's chin, still forcing her to look upwards as he pleased himself.

* * *

Elizaveta's heart skipped a beat as her ears picked up Mathias' moan. _That's probably the most wonderful thing I've ever heard in my entire life. Even better than Roderich's piano playing._ She let out a high pitched moan, too, her face flushing as Mathias copied her action. Again, her scheme had no success, but was thankful (or was she really?) that the Dane had relinquished her. The Hun panted steadily against Mathias' shoulder, then found herself to be staring into the Viking's eyes. She winced as Mathias' bites became stronger.

"You're taking advantage of this too well, my lovely Viking." Those words alone made her seem higher than him - the feeling of falsely claiming Mathias as hers was just too wonderful. Somehow, her words gave her a burst of power and tore her hands out of his, also knocking the knife out of his possession with a single thrust of her elbow. Quickly afterwards, Elizaveta walked backwards to greatly distance herself from the Dane, also to observe what he was going to do. As usual, she was wearing a smirk.

* * *

Mathias shuddered upon hearing Elizaveta's moan, pleasing his ears more than anything ever had before. The heat radiating from her face as she flushed that ever so pleasing shade of pink gave Mathias a high as he continued to feast upon her, her breathing and gaze exciting his blood. He was so lost in his indulgence, and when the Hun uttered those words..._Her lovely Viking, am I?_ Before he could retort, however, she had managed to break away from him, knocked the knife out of his hand, and now stood several feet away, much to his disappointment.

"If the opportunity is present, why _not_ take advantage?" He said, smugly. The Viking craved for her again, for longer, for more. He slowly straightened his back, still against the wall, and shot the Hungarian a mocking look. "I don't see you complaining."

* * *

Elizaveta then thought of this like a war - taking advantage whenever possible? That definitely sounded like a strategic plan used in battles. But of course, this was different. "You know, you were right about women being the intelligent side of men. Apparently, you don't know when to stop or how to control yourself." She was dead-on with reading Mathias' eyes correctly, which told her that he was thirsting for her. "And I'm not seeing that in you at all."

Her two fingers dabbed the skin on her neck, checking for any bite marks or even blood. She then put those two fingers in front of her eyes - though there was no blood, the Hun could definitely feel teeth marks temporarily engraved on her neck. "You lustful bastard," she muttered with a grin.

* * *

Mathias grinned at the Hungarian. "That's not a sign of no intelligence. Boys will be boys." He pushed himself off the wall, but didn't advance towards Elizaveta, still grinning. And it was true-his hunger for her was at this point insatiable, he couldn't get enough. The way she made his blood rush and skin tingle was too pleasant to resist, and every time the Hun smirked at him or spoke his Viking side, now in absolute control, wanted to grab her and _do things_ to her.

The Dane watched Elizaveta check her neck, smirking. He hadn't been able to make her bleed, but he knew he left some marks on her skin, which pleased him. He snickered at her remark. "Is that a crime?" Mathias only had to take two strides to find himself directly in front of the Hun again. He looked down at her, and traced the line of her neck, up, to bring a finger under her chin and make her look up. He whispered, his voice sadistic yet seducing. "There's more where that came from."

* * *

"Some excuse that is," Elizaveta commented, though what he said was true. Her eyes followed Mathias as he moved toward her, though Elizaveta remained where she was. She breathed in his scent which became stronger after each step he took; eventually, the aroma overwhelmed her nose, but it was pleasant. Her brain even responded to the smell by poking at the Hun's thoughts, begging for Mathias once more.

She glanced down to view the Viking's hand. Her head shifted in the flow of the man's finger while her eyes narrowed and her lips spread to smirk. The Hungarian crossed her arms, expecting Mathias to do something mischievous again. "No, it isn't a crime," Elizaveta answered, her voice also lowered into a whisper. "Then why don't you show me?"

Elizaveta heard a voice at the end of the tunnel call out to her, but ignored it.

* * *

Mathias smirked. _You don't know what you're getting yourself into._ The Dane brought his other hand up towards her waist, his hand tracing up her thigh, teasing at the end of her dress. He licked his lips and leaned in, touching nose-to-nose with Elizaveta. "Are you sure you want me to?" His voice sounded deadly, but still contained it's seducing tone. He caressed her cheek, using his thumb to brush the Hun's lips back and forth. He lowered his face, and after his eyes seemed to investigate her face, he slid his tongue across her lips, savoring the taste, breathing in her intoxicating scent that had driven him insane.

* * *

Elizaveta's mouth closed on itself as Mathias' tongue contacted her lips - a pleasant chill ran down her spine. Her own tongue licked the same area to taste the layer of saliva he had left there, her eyes watching for any reaction out of Mathias. Her hand, too, reached down to lightly grab the hand that had clung onto her dress while she enjoyed sharing the same air Mathias was. _He's at it again,_ she observed.

Then she had this sudden urge to abuse him, for it was entertaining to see. "Perhaps," Elizaveta answered carefully. Both of her hands gently held Mathias' as Elizaveta circled around him about 180 degrees. She was far enough from the Viking to have their arms straight out in front of them, keeping the two face to face with each other, and then began ambling backwards again, dragging Mathias with her as if a child were taking her father out to play. After a few steps, her hands released him, but she didn't stop moving until she was on the opposite of the room, similar to the positions they were in a moment ago. Elizaveta noticed that her foot stepped on her knife on the floor, yet didn't bend down to pick it up. She continued, "Only if you can catch me."

_This game is too amusing,_ Elizaveta thought. Again, the same voice cried out to her, a tad louder than before, but she didn't respond to it.

* * *

Mathias felt his blood rushing, especially when he saw Elizaveta licked her own lips that he had just a second ago had the pleasure of tasting. The feel of her hands on his was pleasing, and he was about to go in for another kiss. _What am I doing?_ Unfortunately, the Hungarian decided to mess with him and the switch of positions, reversing it back to how they were just moments ago, left him distant from her. _She's torturing me, again._ Mathias glared, thought with amusement, at the Hun. "Catch you if I can..." He snickered. "Playing hard to get, huh?"

Then a sinister grin crept onto Mathias' face. He noticed that now that they had changed positions, Elizaveta's back was facing a table. Something, something in his mind was telling him to stop, whatever he was doing. But he couldn't. He didn't want to, and he ignored that notion. The Viking strode up to the Hun much like he had before, making it look like he was about to do the same thing he had just done-but instead, he grabbed Elizaveta and pushed her back, forcing her down and pinning her to the tabletop. His lower body was pressed against her, his upper torso hovering over the Hun's, and his eyes locked with hers. _This is going to be fun._

* * *

Elizaveta seemed to experience the same thing she had just minutes ago. But instead of getting pinned against a wall, which she expected to be pushed up against, her back bent down further to lay against a table. Her body didn't resist him, however - the Hun liked how Mathias' body was against hers, transferring heat to wherever they touched each other. "I'm plain hard to get," she confirmed, "but maybe you're just not willing to give up."

Right after she muttered those words, she heard a few light knocks at the door. Her heart stopped pounding for a few seconds as her eyes immediately veered to look at the already opened door, silence overcoming her. From where she was laying, Elizaveta was able to make out a tall body frame - taller than Mathias' - in blue attire and a bucket-like hat, who was holding a rather tall bag of to-go trays. She was able to smell the various kinds of foods within those trays, just barely past Mathias' own scent. Wondering why the door was left open and why there was no answer, Berwald revealed himself, with his usual intimidating face wandering around the house. However, spotting Mathias and Elizaveta down on the table, Berwald sensed that Mathias wasn't being his usual self, and set down the food on a nearby piece of furniture and immediately walked over to the Viking and Hun, his footsteps loud and clear.

"Math'as," Berwald spoke with his deep, heavily accented voice. "What're y'doing?"

* * *

"Giving up only shows weakness." He responded back, smugly. He pressed slightly harder against her, enjoying the touch. "And that's the last think a Viking is going to show." Mathias was about to lean down to tease her again, but then he heard the sound of knocking. Though it was a knock on the door, it also seemed to be a knock on his head. _Oh fucking hell._ He turned to see who it was that had come at such an convenient time and saw..._Fuck._ Suddenly being knocked into his senses, the Dane shoved away from the table, separating himself from the Hungarian, who herself looked shocked. _What did I tell you?_ The voice mocked him. Mathias' non-Viking side finally regained control, kicking his Viking instincts temporarily out the door.

"Berwald?" He finally managed to get out, his voice turning back to normal. "What are you doing here?" The Dane's eyes wandered to the food that the Swede had brought, which made him curious. _How the hell am I supposed to explain this?_ As it was he had not wanted Berwald to show up at all, but it was just his luck that he was the one who would appear at the door.

Berwald continued to stare at the Viking and the Hun, wondering what he had exactly walked in on. "Jus' br'ght sum food." He nodded over to the the bag. Mathias still hadn't answered his question. "We were gettin' w'rried that y'might starve, bein' 'lone an all." The Swede glanced around the house. It seemed orderly enough, the only thing standing out being the wine stain on the floor, and a faded but still lingering taste of alcohol. _Figures._ The tall man raised a questioning eyebrow to the Dane, though he wasn't sure if he wanted to hear what it was or just leave it be and pretend he never saw the two of them.

Mathias blinked at the Swede. _Worried? Brought me food? And Berwald out of all people?_ Finally snapping back to real-time, The Dane coughed before making eye-contact with his fellow Nordic. "I _know_ how to cook, y'know." Though he couldn't say he _wasn't_ happy about the food. He was starting to get tired of what he could manage to prepare from what lay around the home.

"And, uh..." Mathias glanced over at Elizaveta. _Think, think, think._ "Elizaveta had just come over a visit, and we were talking about our days as a Viking and a Hun...and I was just showing her one of the moves that we would use when threatening people! Yeah!" Mathias felt happy that he could come up with something, and hoped it was enough to convince the Swede.

* * *

Elizaveta was surprised to see Berwald walk on in without freaking out - and untouched, at that, even with all the traps lying around Mathias' castle. She figured that it was because Berwald had visited Mathias so many times and already knew his way in and out without setting off one of the levers that would fire some sort of weapon at him and what not.

Her heart was warmed by Berwald's kind actions; whether or not he came up with the idea to bring food to Mathias, she didn't know, but it was still generous of them to think about the Dane while they were gone. _If I'm not wrong, Berwald doesn't like Mathias so much - or vice versa. I guess Tino sent him over._ The voice that had been calling out to her for who knows how long finally reached her ears, and for once she listened: _You should thank Berwald - who knows what kind of thing you two could have done next that could be seen as betrayal to Roderich._ Her eyes seemed to regain their bright green hue, realizing what she has done. Her sanity returned as she thought, _...Oh my god. I'm sorry, Roderich._

Elizaveta laid on the table for a while longer until Mathias came up with his excuse. She leaned on her elbows to get a better angle of the two Nordic nations, but gave a stare that didn't really confirm Mathias' words nor did they deny them. It took her at least ten seconds to respond with a somewhat lost voice, "Ah, yes."

* * *

Berwald stared at the two for a while longer. He could sense the awkwardness behind Mathias' voice-after all, he had known him for years, and rarely did he sound like that. _Something_ was up, but the Swede decided not to press on the issue. "I'know th't y'can cook." He shook his head, letting out a little sigh. "Jus' thoug't y'might wan' some'in diff'rent."

Mathias had to stare at the food for a while longer before fully registering what the Swede had just said, still not believing what had just happened-both between him and the Hungarian, and the fact that the other Nordics actually showed _some_ sign of affection. "Well...thank you." He muttered. "I was sorta gettin' tired of food at home...especially since we haven't really been stocking up on things."

The Viking looked over at the Hun, detecting the tone of her voice. "Yeah...we were just have a little reenactment. Quite fun." He laughed, hoping it sounded genuine.

* * *

A rather fake smile came upon the Hungarian's face as she somewhat slumped off the table, her feet now on the ground. Berwald's stare actually somewhat scared her - a good excuse for talking strangely, she found - and fearfully stared back, though more frightened about the Swede finding out about hers and the Dane's...relationship than the man's appearance. "T-That's right," Elizaveta stammered, recovering some of the strength and a lady-like tone in her voice.

_Have you remembered the consequences yet?_ the other voice questioned in her head, again haunting her. Elizaveta was so dazed that she happened to whisper a "yes" that was hardly audible. She had to get out of Mathias' house as soon as she could, before she deteriorated her bond with Roderich or any good reputation she built with other nations - but her heart seemed strangely settled and happy here. _Dammit, why..._

* * *

Berwald's gaze switched between the two. He looked to Elizaveta and nodded his head in greeting. "S'ry, where are m'manners. Nice t'see ya'." He glanced back at Mathias. "I hope he hasn't b'given' y'trobl'." He gave a small smile to Elizaveta. "He's always gettin' hims'lf in trobl'."

Mathias glared at the Swede. _Don't get upset with him-if it wasn't for him, who knows, you might have done something that Elizaveta would never forgive you for later._ The Dane mentally scowled. _Oh, shut up._  
"Yeah yeah, come say that to me after I save all of your asses like I always do when somethin' goes down." He shook his head. It was tough having to be the older brother of the "family".

Berwald stared at Mathias for a while. "S'true, I guess." He said grudgingly, not want to admit that indeed the Dane had done a lot for the Nordics in the past. "B't anywa' I gotta get goin' now. I would stay f'tea but..." The Swede saw Mathias' discrete movement to go and get something for Berwald-a guest was a guest, a brother a brother. "I'm fine, r'eally. Got st'uf t'care to." He gave a little salute to both. "Eat up, Math'as, an' make sure El'zavet' doesn't starve either."

With that, the tall man turned around and strode off. Mathias watched after him. _He always does this._ Berwald closed the door behind him, leaving the delicious smell of the food that he had brought behind. _This is going to be awkward._

* * *

Elizaveta nearly blushed upon seeing Berwald's smile. _Wasn't he...mad and serious just a moment ago?_ All she could do was return a nod, a little too shocked with the Swede's personality. She watched Mathias head off to get something for the other nation and pondered for a while longer, remaining mute as the scene moved on. _Mathias was right...even with the way he treats Berwald here, he supports them anyways...just like a family._ Her heart sunk from a realization: her 'family' - Roderich, Feliciano, Lovino - had essentially left her. The Hungarian wished that she had that sort of bond with a group of nations like the Scandinavians did.

She was even more surprised when Berwald had to remind Mathias to take care of her as a host should. However, Elizaveta saw that more as of a way to make Mathias more behaved and well mannered than the welfare of herself. Noticing how awkward the two of them were now, Elizaveta made serious eye contact with the Viking, her eyes narrowing as she did so. The Hun slowly removed her eyes off of Mathias as she wordlessly walked toward the door, implying that she should leave.

* * *

Mathias sighed. A surge of warmth went through him at the thought of the other Nordics this time, instead of disdain. It was nice when they could actually act as the family they were.

And then his thoughts went back to the Hun. It seemed the two of them could never get time to themselves without being interrupted-Roderich, Gilbert, and now Berwald. _Take it as a sign._ The voice nagged at him. _You've made a big enough mess out of things already._ The Viking combed a hand through his hair. _If only it was that easy._

When he and Elizaveta made eye contact, he felt a wave of emotions, not being able to tell one apart from the other. He thought about what happened just moments earlier-neither of them were being their normal selves. _Or were we?_ It was so hard now to see who was the real him, who was the real Elizaveta. Viking and Hun, or simply Dane and Hungarian? It was like they both brought out the worst in each other, unexpectedly inviting their former selves. Mathias watched her move to the door, for the umpteenth time, it seemed. He longed to say something, do something, but he failed to find what that something was. He secretly hoped that she would turn around and say something, just so he wouldn't have to initiate it. _What is this feeling that's tugging at my heart?_

* * *

Elizaveta stopped at the door as her hand curled around the doorknob. The cold metal felt like ice, and she was nearly convinced that it was telling her not to leave. At the same time, the Hungarian's heart gnawed at her, giving her a different opinion by demanding that she go back to Roderich and never come back. _But..._ Her lips pursed as she intently stared at the handle; her emotions couldn't make up their minds. Her hand sat on the doorknob long enough so that it sucked out some of her warmth while she debated what to do.

The Hun let out a sigh as she felt Mathias' eyes settle on her, but kept her gaze on her hand. "This...isn't a joke, is it, Mathias?" Her voice had long lost its hostile tone and questioned the Viking seriously, hoping that the Dane understood what she was speaking about.

* * *

Mathias stiffened at her words. He felt a mix of emotions once more, glad that the Hun had said something, but another feeling tugged at him, one he couldn't seem to name. He stared silently at her for a while, as if just taking a step back to observe her as she stood still, hand on the door handle. Mathias felt himself being drawn to her all over again.

"A joke?" He responded in almost a whisper, his voice questioning. _A joke? A game? Reality?_ No, it wasn't a joke. If she was talking about what he thought she was..._No, it is not a joke._ That much the Dane could confirm from the swarm of feelings he felt.

He noticed that the Hungarian had left her knife laying on the ground. Mathias picked it up and silently walked up behind the Hun, not keeping his eyes off of her. He finally managed to say something, his voice a bit stronger. "No, Eli." As he spoke, he smoothly took the knife and replaced it to it's place on Elizaveta's thigh, his fingers lingering at the feel of her skin before drawing away. "This isn't a joke."

* * *

Elizaveta's heart further throbbed once the Dane answered. _If what I'm feeling is truly real...what am I supposed to do?_ Yes, she came upon many problems whenever she was with Roderich - even so, the Hungarian loved him dearly, even if they were divorced. But to have an affair with a _Nordic_, however, would cause even _more_ problems than what her ex-husband went through. And she found herself to yearn for Mathias more than the Austrian. If any other nation found out that Elizaveta leaned for someone else other than Roderich, then they would know that something's definitely up.

_But does Roderich love me from the bottom of his heart, or is he unwillingly taking care of me?_ That question wandered in her head for quite some time.

Elizaveta exhaled lightly as Mathias brushed the skin on her thigh, her lust for him once again ascending. Her eyes shut as her free hand instinctively grabbed the hand that returned her knife, a sign showing that she couldn't let go of him, even if her other hand was on the doorknob. The Hun's emotions pulled her in both directions - to Roderich and to Mathias - but the indecisive Elizaveta made no move. Realizing that she wouldn't be able to do anything without Mathias' help, she whispered to him, "Take me to where I belong."

* * *

Mathias froze when Elizaveta grabbed his hand, preventing him from moving it away. He closed his eyes, breathing in the scent of the Hungarian, his fingers tingling from touching her soft skin. His blood slowly began to rush again as he longed for the woman standing so close to him. _I've never felt like this before._ For a moment, Mathias questioned his own sanity. What was he feeling, and what was he getting himself into? He felt like the questions had been asked before, and had been left without answers for good reason. The other Nordics, if they found out any of this...what _would_ they think?

Elizaveta's question pulled on his heart more than anything ever had before. His own selfish desire for her was too great, he couldn't give a damn about anyone else at that moment. He knew she must be thinking of Roderich-_hell to him. They're divorced._ Mathias was selfish, he knew it, but it couldn't be helped. He stood there for a moment longer, her words still echoing in his mind. The Hun sounded so weak, so vulnerable, so _real_ at that moment, that Mathias ended up gently pulling her away from the door, turning her around, and wrapping her in an embrace.

* * *

Elizaveta allowed herself to fall into Mathias' arms, returning the embrace; her fingers rattled as they dug into Mathias' clothes, her eyes on the verge of letting streams of tears roll down her cheeks. She didn't want to cry - she didn't know if she was due to her distress - because then her weak side would be exposed. The Hungarian disapproved of shedding tears, for she was the Hun that almost everyone feared; since when would a _Hun_ cry? And in front of a _Viking_? If Elizaveta was crying, the water would lightly soak the Dane's shirt anyways, as her face was buried in his chest. His warmth assured her that she was living in heaven, but at the same time, the Hungarian was living in hell.

* * *

Mathias felt a surge of warmth through his body when Elizaveta returned the embrace. He tightened his hold on the Hun, leaning to rest his chin on her head, her hair tickling his nose. He felt as if he could stand there forever, like this, filled with the scent of the Hungarian with each breath. As they stood there, he felt something warm soak through his shirt..._tears?...She's crying_? The Dane felt that tugging at his heart again. He held her even tighter now, burying his face into her hair, eyes closed.  
"Eli..." His whisper sounded so desperate, so..._fragile_. He couldn't believe how weak he sounded. _What's wrong with me?_

* * *

The Hungarian then turned her head, her left ear now pressed against his chest and listened to his rapid heartbeats. "I don't want to let go," Elizaveta murmured, "but I want to at the same time." Her arms straightened out so that she could look at Mathias properly, forming eye contact. Her eyes searched for an answer to a question she didn't seem to have. The Hun seriously had no idea what was going on anymore - with what was happening, with Mathias, and with her life.

"We're ruining each others' lives," Elizaveta uttered unwillingly.

* * *

Mathias' heart skipped a beat at her words. He looked down at her, the wave of emotions starting all over again upon making eye contact. He lifted his right hand and brushed away her tears with his thumb, gently stroking her cheek. He remained silent for a few more moments, contemplating. _So we feel the same way._ He then leaned in and pressed his forehead against hers. staring straight into her green eyes.

"But are we really?" He whispered back, not sure of the answer himself.

* * *

Elizaveta sighed heavily, her breath wavering as she did so. Mathias' loving touches killed her - she wanted him, _so much_, but she wanted to tear away from his arms, too. For some other reason aside from Roderich, something prevented her from taking the Dane - _the other Scandinavian countries?_ she thought, then realized that she was right. The way Mathias treated the other Nordic nations was just an amazing sight to see, but for her to barge into their family...it just seemed _wrong_. She didn't belong with them, and never would.

Mathias' question further pained her. She slowly shook her head, not to say no but to say that she didn't know. Never had in her life did she feel lost as she was now. Elizaveta, feeling herself close up on the inside as she pondered on the things that could happen if separated Mathias from his 'family' or joined it abruptly, took a step back as the Hun's arms slid off of the Dane's body. Her thoughts, which unintentionally came out as audible words in the form of an aching whisper, said, "I can't be with you."

* * *

Mathias felt the Hun's uncertainty in her actions. _Well, this is wonderful,_ he thought, _we're both indecisive and unknowing as hell._ He wondered what thoughts were going through her mind in that instance, who was she thinking about, what was she thinking about?

Her movement away from him, and her words, pained him. His heart nearly went cold as he stared at her, not knowing how to respond. _Why?_ He wanted to ask, but was afraid-_afraid?_-of the answer. It ached him to think about all of this, about what was going on, about the thoughts that both of them must be having, feelings both must be feeling. Mathias sighed, feeling a headache about to start from it all. But he braced himself, reading the Hungarian one time before responding.

"Why?" There, he asked it. The dreaded question with an answer he didn't know what he wanted to hear. What was holding her back, what holding _him_ back? No, nothing was holding him back. He didn't care about anything else that moment, he just wanted _her_, right then, right now, in that very moment.

* * *

Elizaveta, being the Hungarian she was, let everything out, whether or not she liked it - she was naturally expressive and could literally share her emotions with anyone she spoke to. Her voice was raised, cracking now and then: "I can't just leave Roderich, Mathias! He has done so much for me that, if it weren't for him, I probably wouldn't even be _living_ right now." The Hun had a feeling that the Dane would scowl at her for mentioning the Austrian, but this was what he asked. "And...I would be distancing you from the others." There was no way she would let herself state that straightforwardly - it was just too rude. _What would happen if Mathias was no longer a part of them, the Nordic family...?_

* * *

The Dane listened to her, the cracking of her voice hurting him more than the words themselves. He let her speak, standing silently, expression unchanged. _Of course, Roderich._ That he knew was something holding Elizaveta back. But the mention of the Nordics surprised him. _She's actually worried about that?_ Mathias' eyes narrowed, still staring into the Hungarian's green ones. He wanted to reach out and embrace her again, but wasn't sure if he should. Instead, he took a step towards her, their bodies almost touching, and put a finger under her chin, gently moving it up to look directly at him.

"Eli," he started, wondering why it hurt so much now to even say the nickname he had for her. "That's understandable. But..." He tried to think of the right way to word his thoughts, without sounding offensive. His voice was just above a whisper as he finally spoke again: "You left him. You both divorced. _You're independent._" It almost made him angry that the thought wasn't getting to the Hungarian's head. "You two are no longer thought of as a pair. That was years ago. Has he shown you _any_ sign of true affection after you two separated?" He did his best to keep his voice level, not wanting to raise it. "And the others...you'd be the last thing that could possibly distance us." Mathias shook his head. "If after eleven wars Berwald and I still call each other family, believe me, you're not going to change anything."

* * *

_You both divorced._ She could feel her heart get stabbed with a knife with those words. But Elizaveta knew that he wasn't trying to rub it in her face offensively, especially when he reminded her that she was free. Elizaveta delved further into her thoughts with the rest of Mathias' words - what he said about hers and Roderich's relationship was exactly what she thought. But what if Roderich really was still attached to her? _No, that's not likely at all._ Setting that thought aside and ignoring his question about Roderich intentionally, Elizaveta frowned at the Dane, not replying with any words.

Instead, her hand retreated for the door, this time not hesitating to turn it and open it slightly. Her heart was stabbed again as she moved against her will; she shook her head again, muttering out of the blue, "I just can't." Quickly enough so that Mathias couldn't catch her, Elizaveta swerved out the door, sprinting as fast as she could to get out of the castle.

* * *

_**A/N:**_

_Again, this is how we drive our roleplay: people barging in on them. We'll probably be infamous for that. xD And, once again, mood swings and angst. The next few chapters are going to be emotional. :c_

_Notice that Sweden gets passed on from **xNeyu** to **Amerzt** pretty much right after he comes in. We think we mentioned this before, but the two of us take on many more characters, starting the next chapter. We thought that Hungary and Denmark shouldn't always be together throughout the roleplay and needed to be separated at some point or another, so that's why we decided to roleplay more APH characters. c:_

_Also, there's this little joke that we have, concerning the Denmark and him thinking _think, think, think_...**xNeyu** told **Amerzt** that when she read that line, she burst out laughing because she imagined Denmark in a Winnie the Pooh outfit, with his hand tapping his head and other head on chin as he said_ think, think, think_. xD WE MIGHT GET KILLED FOR POINTING THAT OUT, HAHAHA._


	13. Chapter 12

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 12**

_**A/N:**_

_This time at the beginning of the chapter. . . As we have mentioned before, Iceland's fanon name here is **Valdimar Haraldson** and Norway's is **Eirik Haraldson**, with the same last name since they are technically brothers. Liechtenstein will be referred to as **Lili**._

_Also, we have taken on MANY characters, with **Amerzt** as:_

_Denmark (Mathias)_  
_Sweden (Berwald)_  
_Norway (Eirik)_  
_Switzerland (Vash)_  
_Liechtenstein (Lili)_  
_Germany (Ludwig)_

_And **xNeyu** as:_

_Hungary (Elizaveta)_  
_Austria (Roderich)_  
_Prussia (Gilbert)_  
_Iceland (Valdimar)_  
_Finland (Tino)_  
_Sealand (Peter)_

_If you already know these characters well enough to know their names, then you're good to go! If not...memorize now and read later. XD _  
_Again, Denmark and Hungary are in different places, so we've divided up our posts with "..." to indicate the scene switch. If you can't seem to bear with the scene switches often, We suggest that you read one side first (e.g. Mathias and Nordics or Elizaveta and others), read through the entire chapter sticking to just that side, and then read the other side. We hope that wasn't confusing already. XD (Told you it's chaotic.)_

_In this chapter, Mathias and his gang's side is written first in each post.  
ENJOY._

* * *

About a good minute later, the door creaked open a bit more; a pair of hands held the side of the door as a head peeked just beyond them. His snow white eyebrows were knitted slightly, though perked up as the violet eyes beneath them saw Mathias. He then left his 'hiding spot', revealing himself to be the Icelandic nation. He arrived at the Dane's house alone, though like Berwald, not necessarily at his own will - though, he had his Puffin companion sitting on his shoulder. "M-Mathias," he mumbled, whiffing the stale scent of wine. "You look...stoned."

* * *

Her words tugged at his heart harder than anything ever before. Mathias was about to reach out to the Hungarian, but before he could, she ran out the door. He watched her leave, her hair and dress flying behind her. He wanted to run after her, to catch her, to tell her it was okay. But he knew the best thing to do was to leave her be. He let the door close behind her and slumped against the sofa, sighing. _What have you gotten yourself into?_ He didn't know how many times it had been since he asked himself that question. The voice in his head mocked him. _Why do you always have to get into some mess? Can't you just shut up for once?_ Mathias wish he knew the answer to those questions.

He nearly jumped when he heard the voice of the Icelandic nation. _Oh, come_ on. _Can I ever get a break?_ All the Dane wanted in that moment was some peace and time to himself. But of course, nothing ever worked out to his wishes.  
"Nice to see you too, Valdimar." Mathias responded sarcastically. When he thought about it, he probably _did_ look pretty disheveled. "I thought you and Eirik were off to see Tino?"

Just as he finished his question, the Norwegian came behind Valdimar, wearing his usual emotionless expression. "We were going to," Eirik replied for Valdimar, "But we decided to check in on you first, since I can't trust you." He smelled the wine and saw the stain on the ground. Mathias started to wish he had cleaned that up. "And I can see that I'm right in my judgment." He raised an eyebrow at the Dane. _And then Berwald told us about Elizaveta._ But he decided to bring that up later.

Mathias blinked at the two of them. After some moments of silence, the Dane sighed. "Nice to know you care." He muttered. He would have gotten the two some water or something to drink, but he felt so weak at the moment that he remained slumped on the coach.

...

Vash huffed down the road, angry thoughts going on in his head. He was so tired of everything. _This is why I'm neutral!_ He practically yelled in his head. He didn't want to deal with anyone's problems. But being neighbors with Roderich made it difficult not to storm into the Austrian's house and have a few words with him now and then. The two had known each other since young, and Vash once treated Roderich like a little brother. He tried not to think about him, but Vash still, somewhere in some pit of his heart, couldn't help but care about the guy. _Not that I'd ever admit that._

"_B-Bruder_! Calm down! Walk slower!" The Liechtensteinerin ran after her older brother. _He's always like this!_ She always had to stick around to be the cool-headed one when it came to issues. She was about to say something else, but then in the corner of her eye she noticed something green. She turned to see, in the distance, a sprinting Hungarian. _Elizaveta?_

* * *

Valdimar looked out for the corner of his eyes as his brother, Eirik, joined the two of them. He was particularly glad that he had tailed him, since he wasn't looking forward to talking to this stubborn nation single handedly - Eirik surely had the power to knock Mathias into his senses, no matter what kind of situation. _And he does have Mathias pinned down about what he's done,_ he thought, with Berwald's news about him and Elizaveta in mind.

His Puffin hopped down from his shoulder and followed Valdimar as the Icelandic nation walked over to the wine stain. _...Hmm._ Examining his surroundings, he spotted a book on the floor and picked it up, staring at the cover for a while. He returned the book to where it properly belonged, and gazed at Mathias. "You were drinking again, weren't you?" Knowing Mathias, he could have done something terribly wrong...and with Elizaveta in the house, he may have done something far from wrong. He hoped that the Hungarian punished the Dane if he did do anything strange, if he heard right about her being the almighty Hun.

...

Elizaveta didn't know how long she ran for, but all she knew was that she ran _far_.

Her legs were aching a bit from the running (because she hasn't done so in a long while), but the work she did as a Hun paid off quite well. Mathias haunted her mind during the entire length, which was something she hoped to have removed while exercising. But his face seemed to adhere to her - his long, narrow, but well framed face, striking blue eyes...she couldn't deny that she was head over heels for him.

Eventually, she recognized two figures in the distance on the way to her ex-husband's home. Elizaveta stopped sprinting for a moment to distinguish Vash and Lili, then started jogging (she hadn't forgotten her lady like qualities just yet) over to them. "Vash, Lili!" she called. "What a coincidence to see you two." She found it awkward to greet Vash in such a manner, seeing that he wasn't all that...happy. _And I've had way too many coincidences these past two days._ "Are you heading over to Roderich's house?" Her heart gave out one hard push against her lungs - if Gilbert said _anything_ about her and Mathias to him...well, he would be in for it. She prayed that Mathias' scent or wine hadn't stuck to her clothing.

* * *

Mathias watched Valdimar and Eirik enter into the house, and his eyes trailed after the Icelander. He then leaned his head back and looked up at the ceiling and waved his hand at his question. "Yeah yeah, Valdi. What do you expect?" He tried to sound and look indifferent. The Dane wanted to be alone more than anything else, but he couldn't just kick the other two out of the house. _Well, I could, but that wouldn't go down to well._

Eirik shook his head. _Once a drunk, always a drunk._ The Norwegian had followed his brother into the house and he began to look around the house. Pillows and blankets covered one sofa in particular, and again his eyes wandered to the wine stain, and then to the book that Valdimar had just set on the counter. Then he looked at the food that was still sitting there, untouched. He frowned and looked back to Mathias. "You didn't eat anything yet? It might have not been long since Berwald had been here, but I expected you to scarf down everything in a matter of minutes."

Mathias turned his head to glare at the Norwegian. "I'm not that hungry." Eirik knew something was wrong. Mathias never acted like this unless something was on his mind. He started to worry. _What exactly did happen here?_

...

Vash slightly slowed his pace and turned his head to look back at his adopted sister. "I don't need to calm down. Just come on. Lili." He turned back to face in front of him. The Swiss was as stubborn as ever and couldn't help but keep his mind on Roderich, though a feeling of guilt tugged at his heart for Lili's pleas. However, when he saw Elizaveta, he stopped, almost causing Lili to crash into his back. _She doesn't look too good...and why was she running?_ Vash shook his head to clear his head and nodded towards the Hungarian. "Hello Elizaveta," he called back. "And yes, we are."

Lili was glad that her brother decided to finally stop, and turned to see Elizaveta jogging with a smile. "Hi Lizzy!" She called happily, waving. She saw Elizaveta as practically a sister since the Hungarian was the only other female nation in the area. _I hope she's okay._ The Liechtensteinerin knew that the Hungarian was close with Roderich and often got caught up in his issues, as Elizaveta had ranted to her many times. "Are you heading there too?"

* * *

Valdimar was shocked with Mathias' response. He looked over to Eirik, wide eyed, to see if he picked up Mathias' strange behavior. Apparently, the Icelander could tell that the Norwegian detected this as well, even through his emotionless expression. Walking over to the bag of food Berwald had dropped off earlier, he untied the knot and took out one of the to-go boxes. His thumb popped open the box, revealing seasoned fish. The aroma began to spread and overpower the stench of wine; Valdimar was pleased with the smell, and with determination in his eyes, he walked up to Mathias and stretched out his arm with the food.

"Eat," he ordered with a simple word. Valdimar didn't like to see Mathias down like this - if he had to, he would force the Dane to engulf some food. _This probably has to do with Elizaveta..._

...

Elizaveta forced a smile for Lili. _I don't want to her to know what's on my mind - or even know that I'm not in the greatest mood. It gets troublesome when she worries over others..._ Plus, she was happy that Lili was as fine as usual - it showed that Vash was really taking good care of her. _What a responsible brother._ Suddenly, the thought of family ties invaded her, and started to feel lonely on the inside again. _Dammit, not here!_

"That's right, I'm heading there as well. You two don't mind if I come along with you guys, right?" Her voice, again, was fake. Aware that Vash was rather acute in his senses, Elizaveta hoped - just a little, even if she would probably get caught anyways - that he wouldn't notice.

* * *

Mathias stared at the boy in front of him, a bit surprised as he was used to the Icelander always grumbling and being annoyed with him. The smell of fish filled his nostrils as well was the rest of the room, and he felt somewhere, just a tiny desire from his stomach. But his heart and lungs and everything else just pushed it away, his brain remaining unresponsive. He frowned at the box. "I said I'm not hungry. I don't want any." He turned his head away. He laughed, as fake as it was. "Really, what's gotten to you guys?"

Eirik sighed. _Of course he'll try to cover it up._ The Norwegian was amused at his brother's attempt to force the Dane to eat. He wandered into the kitchen and poured a glass of water. He returned to the other two Nordics, thrusting out the glass of water. "At least drink this." He frowned at Mathias again, intensely staring at him. Mathias blinked at the glass of water, and knowing the Norwegian would force the actual glass down his throat if he refused, he took it. _My throat is pretty dry..._ He finished off the water and limply held onto the glass. "There, happy?"

...

Lili smiled. "Of course you can! Right Vash?" She turned to her brother, looking up at him with her large, green eyes. Vash blinked at his sister and nearly blushed. _I hate it when she does that!_ His sister was the only person who he actually let the cuteness of get to him. He turned back to the Hungarian. "Of course." The Swiss analyzed the woman standing in front of him. Her hair and dress were ruffled up, which could have been simply due to her running. There was something in her voice that nagged at him, but he didn't think on it, figuring if Elizaveta did have any troubles, it would be best to save it for Roderich. He began to walk again, Roderich's house almost in sight.

* * *

Valdimar's attention turned to Eirik again. _There is something_ very _wrong with him,_ he thought, as if using telepathy to communicate with his brother. He almost believed that Eirik could read his thoughts, since he was into the occult.

"Eirik, we should take him with us," he insisted as his hands fumbled with the box of food to close it. Valdimar felt his Puffin jump against his leg, trying to reach the container he held. The Icelander rolled his eyes, not responding to the Puffin's desire for the fish. "Maybe Tino and Berwald can get to him." He knew that, together a a family, they'd be able to cheer Mathias up. It greatly disheartened him to see a usually happy Dane in such a dull mood. His suspicion rose concerning Elizaveta - _what did she do, what did she do?_ He planned to ask him later.

...

Again, Elizaveta smiled. She actually felt somewhat bad for faking her emotions, especially to Lili - she was such an honest and sweet girl, and to lie to her made her feel terrible. Walking alongside the siblings and admiring the familiar roads, the Hungarian headed to Roderich's home.

From the porch of his house, Elizaveta heard something go on inside, and stood there to listen before ringing on his doorbell:

"Gilbert, _please_ behave and stop telling me this ridiculous nonsense." Roderich's voice was raised to a volume higher than it should be - and the mention of Gilbert's name automatically clicked her. _So he did decide to go tell every single little detail of my life to Roderich just to shove it in his face._

"C'mon, Roddy, since when did I lie? Maaaaan, your cheeks are so _stretchy_! You know it's true - Elizaveta was at Matt's house, and I bet that _both_ of them drunk till their bladders exploded, not just Matt." And of course, Gilbert was being a total dipshit (even if she liked seeing Roderich's cheeks get pulled). "And imagine what they could have _done_-"

Elizaveta purposely rang the doorbell to stop him. She heard someone get onto their feet and patiently walk over to the door; the sounds the feet made and the pressure against the floor told her that it was Roderich getting the door. The Hungarian, though delighted that it wasn't Gilbert who got up, swallowed, nervous to see her ex-husband. _Just act normal._ The lock shifted and the door moved - and there stood Roderich, laying his eyes on Elizaveta.

"Greetings, Elizaveta - oh, and hello Vash and Lili." He didn't seem to sound too happy to have Vash as a visitor, though tried his best to sound like it.

* * *

Eirik could sense that Valdimar was thinking the same thing he was-_something_ was wrong with Mathias, without a doubt. This wasn't him at all. On any other day if the two brothers had visited the Dane, Mathias would have been jumping with joy. But now? _He seems so...dead._

Mathias frowned at Valdimar's words. He crossed his arms. "I don't need any "_getting to_", damn it." He was starting to get frustrated. _Why do they suddenly care so much?_ Though the thought of all the Nordics being together stirred his heart, his stubborn self still wanted to spend time alone.

Eirik looked to the Icelander, ignoring Mathias. "Good idea. I don't think I trust him alone." Mathias scowled. _Especially when he was like this. I told him not to get into a mess._ It obviously had to do with Elizaveta, and Eirik suspiciously glanced at the wine stain for the third time. His thoughts went to what Berwald had told them earlier, when Eirik and Valdimar had bumped into the Swede. _It couldn't be... _

...

Vash and Lili walked silently, following the Hungarian as she ascended the porch to the Austrian's house. Both picked up on the conversation occuring inside. Vash kept a straight face, acting as if he hadn't heard, but Lili couldn't help but steal a glance at the older female. _She was at Mathias' house? Drunk?_ That worried her. Elizaveta, to what Lili knew about the Hungarian, hadn't drunk much since her Hun days. She always tried to appear lady-like in front of Roderich, avoiding alcohol most of the time, save for the occasional drink. Then again, the Liechtensteinerin couldn't trust Gilbert's words. She knew better than that.

Vash coughed upon Roderich opening the door. He had thoughts similar to Lili's running in his mind. "Hello, Roderich." He tried not to sound bitter. Lili frowned slightly at her brother before turning to the Austrian with a smile. "Why hello, _Herr_ Roderich . I hope you don't mind us visiting."

* * *

The black Puffin then gave up trying to hoard off of Mathias' food, sensing a distortion in the atmosphere, and wobbled over to the Dane. The bird glanced up at Mathias once before flying onto the man's lap, poking continuously at his stomach. Valdimar was surprised to see the Puffin actually do something, and caught on with what it was trying to do. The Icelander grabbed Mathias' wrist and, with one strong tug, pulled him off of the couch, while his pet flew back onto Valdimar's shoulder to avoid getting crushed. "Let's get going to Tino's," he urged. "We can't leave you here when you're like this."

...

Elizaveta walked up to the Austrian and set her hands on his shoulders, kissing him lightly on his cheeks. "Hello, Roderich." She prayed that Roderich didn't have a great sense of smell - after all, his hearing is the best of all his senses - so that he wouldn't smell the shallow smell of wine. Roderich, to Elizaveta's luck, smelled nothing but Mathias' scent, which confirmed that the Hungarian had stayed over at the Viking's home. The ends of his eyebrows twitched in digust; _does she still not know about Mathias and his unacceptable personality?_ He tried his best to shrug that aside - Elizaveta was the sort of person who could have good relations with any country, if she wanted to. He kissed her hand in return, though cautiously.

Roderich wasn't struck with Vash's monotone greeting - he was too used to it that he gave up listening for a happier or more normal voice. He turned to the Liechtensteinerin and bowed politely. "No, _Fraulein_ Lili, I don't mind at all. Please, make yourselves at home." _And ignore that bastard fooling around in my manor._ The pianist stepped aside and motioned the three of them to step in.

Gilbert, who was sitting inappropriately along a couch, perked up upon seeing the three of them. "Oh, look who it is~" He let out a _kesesese_, his trademark phrase, spinning off of the couch and onto his feet. "Heeeeey, Liz. We were just talking about you..." _And Roderich's first expression was_ priceless. _Missed a Kodak moment, Liz._

* * *

Mathias watched the Puffin, surprised when it hopped up onto his lap. "Ow!" The beak of the bird kept prodding his stomach. _What the hell?_ Mathias was even more surprised when he was suddenly tugged to his feet. He looked down at the Icelander and Norwegian. "I don't need any-"

"Shut up and come on." Eirik cut Mathias off. Without another word he grabbed Mathias' arm and walked out the door. "We're seeing the others, together, whether you like it or not." Mathias stared at the Norwegian for a while before finally being able to respond. He wrenched his arm out of Eirik's arm. "But I'm _fine_. If you guys really want me to come I will-I can't blame you." He grinned, though it hurt his face to do so. He hoped that the thought of Elizaveta would remain silenced , not knowing if he wanted to tell any of them anything.

...

Vash, with his acute senses, noticed the Austrian's twitch when talking with Elizaveta. _Huh, something is up._ The Swiss ignored it and marched into the house without a word, though he glared at the Prussian. _Ugh. Tonight is going to turn into another disaster._ He could sense the mischievousness surrounding Gilbert, and if he had heard right earlier on, something-or someone-was definitely going to go down.

Lili smiled at Roderich again. "Why thank you." She walked into the house, following her brother, though her steps were dainty and elegant. She glanced back at the Austrian and Hungarian, and thought about how adorable they were. _Almost as adorable as Vash's drawings._ Yet something bugged the Liechtensteinerin-her eyes, that's what it was. Something was bothering her about the Hungarian's eyes...but she didn't want to look too deep. Maybe Elizaveta wanted to be left alone. _Oh, I hope she's okay!_  
Lili then turned her attention to the Prussian, who seemed to be teasing the older female nation. "Hello, Gilbert." She said with a smile, though she was suspicious of his actions.

* * *

Valdimar frowned. _He's faking it._ "No you're not," he retorted instantly as he and his sibling dragged him out of his house (and didn't forget to take the bag of food with him), shutting the door on the way out. "Stop pretending to be happy when you aren't. We know you well enough to read you." After so many visits, the Icelander knew the path out of the maze as if it was second nature and made his way onto Tino's home with the other two Nordics. _You're going to tell us what happened,_ Valdimar thought, assuring himself with confident words.

As the three Scandinavians approached the Finnish home, Peter bounced around the front window, cheering, "They're here, they're here, desu yo!" He ran in circles around Tino, his supposed 'mother', who walked over to the same window to peer outside. A wide smile came upon the taller nation's face. "Ahh, you're right!" The Finnish boy made his way to the entrance of his home, opened the door to let in a cool breeze, and waved his approaching visitors. "Welcome back, Eirik and Valdi! _Hei_, Mathias!" He was completely oblivious to Mathias' condition and the news that Valdimar had for him.

...

_Oh, fuck, it's that guy._ Gilbert stared at Vash, watching his 'march' into the Austrian's house and critiquing his military movements. _Not too bad._ He let out a snort, knowing that if he messed with this nation he'd get knocked out (especially if he did anything to Lili - or even breathed her air). "'Sup, Vash, Lili," he muttered coolly.

A smirk naturally wiped onto his face as his attention was directed to Elizaveta. She was sending him the look again. Whatever, Gilbert thought. He was about to open his mouth to start teasing her until Roderich ambled up to her, ruining his fine chance of witnessing anger at its best.

"Are you alright, Elizaveta?" Roderich questioned, referring to the stress she had been having prior to Mathias' visit. It took a few seconds for Elizaveta to realize that he wasn't talking about her stay at the Dane's house, and forced yet another smile.

"No, I'm fine. I've gotten over it; don't worry about me." _Thank God that he didn't bring up Mathias._ "I see that Vash is visiting again. Is anything better for you?"

The Austrian nodded in understanding, relieved that she was alright. "Well, as you can see, Gilbert is still behaving immaturely." The Prussian's ears picked up his name and the words after it; he snorted again. "Ludwig has yet to get his brother under control. Vash, on the other hand...I don't think he has gotten any better recently."

Elizaveta nodded with concern as she snuck a glance at Vash. He really did seem more crabby than usual, which made Lili respond with worry and apprehension. _Oh, Roderich, what have you been doing to yourself?_ She knew that she had to ask herself the same question.

* * *

"I'm not faking anything!" Mathias huffed. _Lies._ "Seriously, did you two hit your heads while out boating? Don't tell me it capsized or something." However, it was a pointless argument, as the other two Nordics weren't going to let him rest for even a minute. He continued to grumble under his breath as they walked. _Damn it, why can they read me so well?_

Eirik once again ignored the Dane's words as he and Valdimar walked on either side of Mathias, only a couple steps ahead. The Norwegian straightened up when he saw the Finnish home ahead of them. Let's hope this all works out. He dragged the ever reluctant-Mathias to the porch of the Finnish home. Eirik nodded to the waving nation. "_Hei_, Tino."

Mathias faked a smile and also nodded to his former house-mate. "_Hej_, Tino." He then looked over to Peter, smiling. "How's my favorite nephew doing?" He ruffled up the micronation's hair. _Eirik and Valdi may be able to read me, but these two won't be able to._ He stiffened at the thought of Berwald-_is he here?_ As if the Swede could read Mathias' thoughts, he appeared around the side of the house. "Oh, _hej_, Mat'ias, E'rik, an' Vald'mar." His voice was as deep and serious as ever. His eyes lingered on Mathias for a bit before turning to Tino. "Look' l'ke a f'll ho'se."

...

Vash muttered a "Hallo" to the Prussian. He scanned the room, his eyes inspecting every detail and his ears picking up for any conversation. He heard Roderich talk about him and shot the Austrian a glare. "Well-"

Before the Swiss could make any outburst, Lili hushed him. "_Bruder_, not now. Please." She tugged on her sibling's sleeve. Things were already tense as it was. Though she, her brother, and Roderich were all neutral nations, they always ended up in the mix of things (like Greece's financial troubles), especially since Roderich housed the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Then of course Roderich was facing issues since he joined the European Union, meaning that technically he wasn't neutral anymore-that's what got on Vash's nerve. _Though, even brother has been becoming closer to the EU._ And then there was the issue that Lili herself had been under scrutiny concerning her banks...

There was a heavy knock at the door, which was still open. Vash and Lili turned to see Ludwig, the Prussian's brother, as if he had magically been beckoned by the mention of his name. "_Hallo_, everyone. Sorry for intruding on anything." The German looked at the several nations occupying the Austrian's home, and his eyes rested on Gilbert. "_Bruder_, must you always intrude on others?" He frowned, shaking his head. "I went for a conference with some other nations and I come back to find you here."

* * *

"Hello you three," Valdimar greeted, not with the brightest tone of voice. Tino moved out of his doorway for his good friends to walk inside and smiled happily at Berwald, still having no clue about Valdimar's different tone of voice. As the Icelander took Mathias inside, he somewhat carelessly dropped the bag on a nearby table and shoved the Dane onto the couch from the back, grabbing Eirik's hand beforehand before he was taken down with him. Both Tino's and Peter's eyes widened in surprise at Valdimar's actions.

"We need to talk," he said. Valdimar glanced at Berwald and nodded to him, indicating that he was referring to what the Swede had witnessed. Tino frowned and cocked his head to the side slightly. _Whenever something like this happens, there's always bad news,_ the Finnish nation thought. Tino took a brief glance at every Nordic face - Berwald's was serious, as usual; Eirik's, emotionless, as usual; Valdimar's, concerned; and Mathias', just...out there. Not only that, but the Viking seemed wiped out more than usual - the friendly air he usually brought out had completely disappeared. _Oh, is that why they brought him here?_

"What happened?" inquired Tino. Valdimar kept his glare on Mathias, though muttered, "That's what I'm wondering." Peter remained silent, quietly watching the scene bloom.

...

Roderich turned to the newcomer. "_Hallo_, Ludwig. You arrived at just the right time." His head then twisted to give his attention to the Prussian, who had started walking over to his younger brother.

"Oh, c'mon, West. I came here for a good reason," Gilbert smirked. Once he got to his brother, he posted his arm on the younger German's shoulder, leaning against his muscular body for support. "Has to do with Lizzy over there." His thumb constantly poked at an invisible wall in the air to point at the Hungarian with emphasis. "Sounds like she's doing stuff behind Roddy's back, and with a _Nordic_ at that-"

"Gilbert, shut your trap." As much as she would have loved to beat up the Prussian, Elizaveta kept herself relatively composed - it wasn't worth starting something here, especially if there were things going on both Mathias' and Roderich's end. The thought of Mathias alone made her chest ache, and Roderich already had too many problems. He didn't deserve another mountain of issues. "Nothing bad happened. If Roderich wants to speak to me about it, then he can. I don't mind; just let me handle the talking and don't spread lies, Gilbert."

Roderich sighed, thankful for Elizaveta's words. He was rather suspicious about his ex-wife, especially when her unlady-like side came out, but he knew that she was like that, naturally - it didn't bother him...too much. He heard Gilbert scoff and mumble, "I wasn't lying at all. Why don't you stop bitching."

* * *

Mathias was surprised to have himself pushed onto the coach. But he didn't retort. Instead he just slouched, glad to sit down, exhaustion getting to him. He looked up at the Icelander, who was glaring with such intent at him. He glanced around the room. He felt warm on the inside...it was nice to have all the Nordics together under one roof, though it painfully reminded Mathias of..._the days of the Kalmar Union,_ he thought. He shook the thought out of his head and returned Valdimar's glare, narrowing his eyes.

Eirik was glad his brother had stopped him from falling down with Mathias onto the sofa. He crossed his arms and looked at Mathias, though not before stealing a quick glance at Berwald. "Yes, we need to talk." Mathias let out a sigh, frustrated. He replied, his voice holding a bitter edge: "I don't see _what_ we need to talk about."

Berwald watched silently, knowing very well what Valdimar and Eirik were talking about. He had bumped into the two of them on the way back to Tino's house after dropping off the food at Mathias' place. They had been wondering about the Dane and he told them what he saw and his suspicions. It was obvious that Mathias had lied to him, otherwise why else would he be in this state?

...

Ludwig raised an eyebrow at his older brother. What he said was odd, and he stole a glance at Elizaveta before looking back to Gilbert, who was leaning against him. "_Bruder_, why do you always have to bother Elizaveta?" He turned to the Hungarian with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry he's always getting in the way." The German sighed, wondering why _he_ had to act like the older sibling out of the two. He was always having to clean up after the Prussian, and it got frustrating at times. He also never understood why Gilbert continued to bug Elizaveta, though he had come up banged up several times due to messing with her.

Lili looked on with concern, wondering what the Prussian had meant. _Lizzy? With Mathias?_ The girl didn't know the Viking all too well, but she had heard plenty about him. That's odd... She wished to talk to the Hungarian about it, but at the same time didn't want to intrude on her personal affair and figured if she wanted to, Elizaveta would tell the Liechtensteinerin.

Vash remained silent, though nodding to acknowledge the German. _Great. Looks like I won't be able to tell Roderich off today._ He crossed his arms and impatiently tapped a finger, wondering to see if anything was going to become of the scene.

* * *

Valdimar stole another glance at both Eirik and Berwald; they hadn't said a single word about Mathias' problem other than needing to talk about it. _I guess I'm the one who has to bring it up._ Being the 'investigator' like he was, Valdimar leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, intensifying his glare at Mathias. "You're acting different, Mathias. Something happened while you were alone and it seems to have affected you somehow." He paused, recalling the condition of Mathias' house when he arrived there with Eirik. "The stench of alcohol, the wine stain, your facial expression, your lack of hunger, your demeanor, the absence of your happiness - all of that just proves that something went on."

Tino stared at Valdimar, somewhat incredibly. He knew that Mathias was a heavy drinker, but he never changed from it because...well, he liked drinking. Tino wasn't there to see Mathias' home, so he couldn't give his own input about it. But if, whatever it was, was causing Valdimar to speak up unusually, then it must have been something serious. Attempting to help out in some way, his blue eyes veered over to the Dane. "Mathias, if you need to talk about it, we're here for you." He could feel Peter cling onto the end of his jacket with worry.

Valdimar decided to take a chance, knowing that it was better for the family to know. "Elizaveta, that Hungarian - it involved her, didn't it?"

...

Elizaveta smiled half-heartedly at the mannered German. "It's not a problem, Ludwig. I know well what to do when Gilbert does these kinds of things."

"Weeeeeeell, I thought I should just let you guys know. I mean, it's pret-ty important." Gilbert snickered, though didn't touch upon the topic that he was nearly killed in Mathias' castle. _That's a completely different case. I'd get fucked over so bad._ "Look at those scarred up hands Liz has! And see 'er face and clothes? They're wiped out. Something tells me that she's been up to no good, kesesesese~"

Elizaveta's eyes burned in fury. "Didn't Mathias already tell you what had happened?" She really didn't want to explain herself again, since the things she did that drunken night could be looked down upon. "I'm not going to put up with your behavior, Gilbert. Besides, I was running over here to prevent _you_ from starting something stupid like this again." The Hungarian turned her head to glance at Vash and Lili; they didn't seem too pleased, either. _Lili looks worried...I should explain to her what happened, but not too much about it, or else... _

Roderich twitched at the mention of the Dane's name. _So she was over there,_ he confirmed to himself. His eyes moved down to look at Elizaveta's hands; taking hold of them without permission, the Austrian flipped her hands over to reveal injured hands, which have yet to recover. He wondered why he didn't catch this before. "Elizaveta, please explain to me about this...when the others depart." He whispered lowly, enough so that the other European nations didn't detect his words, "You may be disheveled, but you still appear lovely, Elizaveta."

Elizaveta nodded at him nervously, and her eyes widened when he started to fix her hair and dress. It made her question if Roderich still loved her in any sort of way, and if he minded about her developing feelings towards Mathias. _Roderich probably still dislikes him, especially after their consultation...he wouldn't approve of this._

* * *

Berwald simply nodded when Valdimar spoke, signaling that he agreed. It wasn't like the Dane to be like this at all, and he looked towards Mathias, wearing a questioning and curious look, but remained silent, now and then exchanging glances with Eirik.

Mathias stared at Valdimar for a while after he asked his last question. _So Berwald_ did _tell them._ But he was just so frustrated and tired and miserable that he wanted to be left alone, and it was starting to get on his nerves that the other Vikings weren't letting him be left alone. He wanted to yell at them, ask them why they cared, after treating him like shit so much of the time. He knew it was because they were worried and sometimes families were just like that, but _still_. Mathias' own emotions were so jumbled up that he didn't know what to say. Finally, after what seemed a century, he was able to mutter: "What's up with you guys. I-"

Before he could continue, Eirik took a pillow and shoved it in the Dane's face to silence him. "Nothing is up with _us_. Just spill it, already. You know we're going to find out anyway." He removed the pillow, glowering at Mathias, who looked up at him with shock.

The Dane managed to choke out the rest of what he was saying: "Ugh, what the hell? I just need time alone, that's all." He got up to his feet, ready to leave the Finnish household right there and then, but Berwald came and shoved him back down on the sofa. "No," the Swede said. "Yo're g'nna te'l us." He glared at the Dane with such intensity that Mathias unconsciously shrunk back into the sofa. There was no escaping them. Still, that didn't stop the Dane from attempting to leave again.

...

Ludwig sighed, shaking his head. "_Bruder_, please." He frowned at the Prussian. _How has he not gotten himself killed yet?_ The German wanted to ask where his brother had been the night before, but decided to save that for later, having a feeling he must have been at Mathias' place from what he had picked up.

Vash groaned as he watched the Austrian and Hungarian, rolling his eyes. He stopped upon seeing Lili glare at him, and decided to keep himself occupied with the various items in the Austrian's manor. _This guy just likes to flaunt off his wealth, huh?_ The Swiss started to get angry all over again thinking solely about Roderich that he decided to look over at the brothers near the door. "Ludwig, any news from the EU?" The German shook his head, leaving Vash to grumble to himself again as he ran out of ways to distract himself.

Lili sighed at her brother. Things felt so tense in the household that she shifted her weight from foot to foot, not knowing what to do. She still couldn't help but think of how absolutely _adorable_ Elizaveta and Roderich were together, smiling as she watched the Austrian tidy up his ex-wife. But something told her that right now might not be the best time to be around. "Uhm...hey, Roderich, should we go? We'll come another time, if it's more convenient..."

* * *

Tino frowned. _Mathias is never like this!_ He ran up to Mathias, his eyes pleading as he said, "Please don't leave, Mathias! We want to help you." He couldn't bear leaving his friends to mope by themselves - he hated seeing them so miserable, and doing nothing made him feel useless. Plus, what kind of family would they be if they deserted one of their members?

A bark was heard from a close distance, and a few seconds later, a small white dog came scurrying out from one of the rooms on the same story. Hanatamago, Tino's dog, had sensed the tense atmosphere and appeared before them to soothe the Scandinavians. It stopped pacing a few feet to yap once before sprinting past his owner squirming between Mathias' feet to block his way, preventing the Dane from returning to his home. It gave out another bark, yet wore a determined expression. Tino smiled at the dog. "Thank you, Hanatamago!"

Valdimar, at this point, had snatched one of Mathias' arms and tried to pull him back inside. He wouldn't let go until Mathias submitted to their pressure and told them what was on his mind. The Icelander had done this so many times before - and successfully, too, at that - and knew that he and the others would win him over.

...

Gilbert simply let out a hearty laugh at his brother's words. He knew that Ludwig knew that he wouldn't behave, _ever. Can't let something entertaining pass by - gotta take advantage of it!_ For the moment, he watched Roderich's expression, awaiting for a humorous spectacle out of it.

Roderich sighed, becoming irritated by the Prussian. Ignoring him, the aristocrat looked at Lili with surprise. "No, it's fine; I don't want you and your brother to waste a trip. Please, stay as long as you like." He knew that he would regret those words, especially since Vash would go wherever his sister went. Also, the Swiss didn't seem to enjoy himself in his lavish home, and would possibly make a fuss later once (or if) the two of them were alone. "However, I must apologize, Ludwig; I ask of you to escort Gilbert out of my home. He has been rude ever since he barged in."

"What the _fuck_, Roddy, you can't just do that to me!" Gilbert, as usual, argued. "I'm already homeless as it is, you can't kick me out! Be sympathetic for once, will you? Give me some food, or maybe even-"

Elizaveta sighed herself as Gilbert's rant continued on, though his voice filtered through her ears. "Thank you," the Hun whispered to Roderich after he cleaned her up, bowing slightly and feeling rather embarrassed that he did that for her in front of the others. She quietly walked over to Vash and Lili and spoke to both of them. "If you don't mind you two, I'd like to speak with Lili alone later today." She thought it would be more respectful if she asked for the Swiss' permission first before privately chatting with her. _Never anger Vash,_ the Hungarian noted.

* * *

Mathias couldn't believe how stubborn they were all being. After being pulled and pushed and pestered by a dog and taken back inside the home and shoved onto the sofa, he realized he had lost. It was one against six, if he included Tino's dog. "Okay okay, geez, _will you guys stop!_" He huffed. Eirik, who had also been one to grab Mathias, actually now sat down next to him, arms crossed.

"Okay, we've stopped. Now, tell." The Norwegian's voice was commanding, and Mathias nearly flinched at the tone of it. Eirik would wring the Dane's arm if it was necessary to get him to talk, and Mathias knew that.

Berwald had gone and gotten a glass of water, shoving it into the Dane's hands. Mathias glared at the repeated scenario, knowing once again he would be forced to have it. He took the glass and finished it in one go, setting it with force on the endtable. Mathias, usually wanting to be the center of attention, wanted the exact opposite in that moment. "I'm just...not feeling well."

...

Ludwig nodded at Roderich, sighing again as his brother went on his rant. He moved so that the Prussian could no longer lean on him. "Of course, Roderich. I'm sorry for causing any trouble." With that, he grabbed Gilbert by the collar of his shirt and dragged him out of the Austrian's house. "_Bruder_, you are going to be the death of me one of these days."

Vash couldn't help but smirk at the scenario, but was surprised when Elizaveta approached him and his sister. He blinked at her a few times before responding. "Oh, uh...of course." He nodded as he spoke. Lili gleamed up at the Hungarian, happy that Elizaveta was willing to talk to her as well as remembered not to anger her short-tempered brother. "Lizzy, maybe we can go out for some ice cream?" The Liechtenstienarin clasped her hands together, her words ringing with melody. Vash never got how his sister could always be so calm and charming even in the most serious of situations. He coughed and turned, walking over to Roderich.

"You know very well why I'm here." The Swiss narrowed his dark green eyes, looking straight into the Austrian's purple ones. "Just be happy that I haven't decided to cut off ties with you. I'm the mediator of conflicts for a reason."

* * *

Valdimar and Tino both sighed in relief; even Peter's muscles relaxed after tensing up so much. Tail wagging with satisfaction, Hanatamago ambled back inside the home and hopped into Peter's arms. The child chuckled and petted the animal gently, a way to thank the pet for convincing Mathias to stay. The Finn walked over to where the bag of food idly settled, peeking into the bag and removing the containers sitting in it. Ah, looks like he didn't eat anything. _I guess that's another reason why Eirik and Valdi are so worried._ Quickly, Tino went off into the kitchen to store them away.

The Icelander released Mathias and sat down on sofa, resting on leg on top of another, his arms crossed as well. He waited until the Dane finished drinking his cup - it actually worried him to see him chug that liquid down his throat - before replying. "Not feeling well? How so?" he ventured, curious and wanting to know more. _Whatever it is, I don't like it. Mathias hardly gets upset over anything._

...

"And could you just lend me some - _HEY._ West, you too? I knew I shouldn't have trained you to be so buff - ow ow ow, that hurt - you're taking advantage of this-" Gilbert nearly clung onto Roderich's door frame in order to fight back Ludwig's forceful measures, yet couldn't reach far enough and thus left.

Roderich watched that entire scene, happy that the Prussian had finally departed. He found it somewhat amusing, too. His home was now quiet, and that was the way he liked it when he wasn't playing the piano. Joining the threesome, he listened to Elizaveta agree with Lili:

"Oh, of course! Ice cream sounds great for this kind of weather." The Hungarian glanced outside, admiring the white-yellow glow the sunlight gave off. "Thank you, Vash." Noticing that the Swiss had already begun a conversation with her ex-husband, Elizaveta murmured quietly to Roderich, "Looks like you have some business to settle. I'll talk to you later, alright?"

Roderich nodded as Elizaveta beckoned Lili to head off and satisfy themselves with cold foods. Now that his attention was undivided, the Austrian coughed, bobbing his head down once. He hated to speak to Vash about anything like this, but knew that this was what he had to deal with all the time. "Yes, I understand. What is it that you would like to deal with first?"

* * *

Mathias leaned back and stared absentmindedly at the ceiling, not sure what he wanted to tell. "Just...not feeling well."

Eirik sighed and grabbed the Dane by the collar of his shirt, forcing him to face the Norwegian. "Just tell us, dammit. You keep repeating yourself." He was starting to get angry. _Why is he being so reluctant?_

Berwald stayed standing, silent, not sure what to say to Mathias. The two had been in conflicts so often that now seeing him like this confused the Swede. Mathias usually never let anything get to him-always happy, laughing, snickering. It disheartened the Swede-though the two didn't get along a lot of the time, still, they were family.

Mathias blinked at the Norwegian, sensing the frustration emanating from him. "Just...confused emotions." He finally muttered.

...

Lili happily departed with the Hungarian, though was slightly worried to leave her brother and Roderich alone. As the two females walked to the ice cream parlor, Lili turned to Elizaveta.  
"So...was there something you wanted to tell me?"

* * *

Tino perked up at Mathias' response. "Confused emotions? It's not because of us, is it?" He wasn't too sure what Mathias meant by that, but decided just to ask so that it would be made clear to the rest of the Scandinavians.

Valdimar seemed to understand better than the Finn and mutter, "No, it's isn't; he wouldn't get confused over us." Suddenly, he reminded himself of when he took Eirik off on a short boating trip, and the expression Mathias wore on his face as they sailed off. He didn't even think once about Mathias during that time, but as he pondered over it again, the Dane did look rather heartbroken and lonely. His own heart seemed to have twisted a bit. "If it is us, then...I'm really sorry, Mathias. But I have a feeling that that's not what's on your mind right now - how are you emotions _confused_? All I see you ever being is happy and energetic."

...

Elizaveta paused in the middle of her steps to think, a headache growing in her head. She didn't know where to start - she had so much to say, but she wanted most of the information to remain hidden. _Either way, someone's bound to know. Plus, knowing myself, I can't keep secrets too well._ Finally, the Hungarian turned to the Liechtensteinerin and settled with one thought to start off their conversation. "My emotions are starting to tell me that...Roderich isn't the one for me anymore." She purposely avoided the other issue about Mathias just so that Lili wouldn't be hit by one thing after another - the Hun was still even indecisive about whether or not she wanted to tell the other female nation about him. At the moment, Elizaveta really wished that she could...die and never tell anyone, never care about others' opinions and politics, and do whatever she wanted to do without worrying about anything else.

* * *

Eirik glanced at the Icelander before continuing his glaring at the Dane, though it softened at Tino's and Valdimar's words. _Could it be us? Or is it something to do with the Hungarian? Or both?_

Mathias was ready to say that it was because of the Nordics, just so that he could avoid the topic of Elizaveta. He stared at the ground for a long time, or what felt like a long time. "Well," His voice was oddly quiet. _Damn it. I'm giving myself away at all angles._ But the Dane was tired of acting. He just wanted to sleep and forget everything. "Yeah, some of it is because of you guys. Actually a good amount of it." Eirik stared at Mathias, shocked by how sad the fellow Viking sounded. The Norwegian looked to Berwald for a moment before scooting just a tiny bit closer to Mathias.

"Mathias...does the rest of it...have to do with someone else?" _Like Elizaveta?_ Eirik still couldn't get the image Berwald had described out of his head. It has to be.

Mathias remained silent, eyes still downcast. The silence was too much to bare and he finally choked out a reply, though it was barely above a whisper. "...Yes."

...

Lili paused when the Hungarian did, and she looked at the older nation as she thought. _She looks...sad, almost._ The girl's eyes widened in shock when Elizaveta made her confession. _What? But..._ Lili began to walk again, entering the door of the ice cream parlor ahead, confused. "Really?" She questioned, skimming over the various ice cream choices and the menu before looking back up at the Hungarian. She placed a hand on Elizaveta's arm, smiling at her. "Lizzy...you know you can tell me anything. Don't feel forced to, though. I don't want to be a pain." The Liechtenstienerin's thoughts went back to what she had heard Gilbert say, about Elizaveta staying at Mathias' house. _Could it be...?_

* * *

Both Valdimar and Tino cringed when Mathias admitted that it was partially their fault. Tino returned to the rest of the group and opened his mouth to apologize as well, but halted once Eirik questioned about another person affecting him. This time, Tino straightened his back at Mathias' response - he knew that the Dane never got into anything with other countries other than the Nordics themselves. _How in the world did he get involved in something else?_ the Finn worried.

"Not to pressure you, but..." Tino trailed off in order to organize his thoughts and phrasing of his words. "Could you buy any chance tell us who this person is?"

_Elizaveta,_ Valdimar thought, very sure of himself. _It's her that made him like this. I don't get it - how could such a nation get to him that quickly, and in a single day, for that matter? They hardly even know each other._ His gaze switched over to both Eirik and Berwald, and they seemed to be deep in thought from what he saw. _They're probably thinking what I'm thinking. If this turns out to be a tough situation, what are we to do?_

...

Elizaveta made sure that she stayed beside the younger nation, before her brother would become outraged for not keeping watch over her. She, too, started to scan through the various ice cream flavors, but then her train of thought snapped as Lili laid a hand on her arm. A unique, friendly feeling of warmth seemed to pass through that hand into her own body. Nodding, Elizaveta continued, "I still want to be his friend, even if I do feel that way. However..." It felt like her heart was grabbed here. "I'm not sure if he - or anyone - would approve of this..." Again, the Hungarian tried her best to stray from discussing about Mathias. _It'll cause an uproar, for sure._

* * *

Both Berwald and Eirik glanced at Tino as he asked the question. And both thought the same as the Icelander. Eirik leaned back on the sofa, looking up at the ceiling, waiting for a response from the Dane before saying anything further. _Elizaveta, for sure. _

Mathias didn't want to tell them, yet he did at the same time. _No, they'll just think I've officially lost it._ He continued to stare downwards, contemplating, wondering what to say, what to reveal, what to tell. Even if he _did_ tell them, what good would it do? They'd probably just tell him it was a phase, it'll pass, not to get involved with a nation that he wasn't already super-close with. After what seemed eternity, the Dane sighed and straightened up, looking around the room. "Someone. But it's not important, really." He hoped he sounded convincing.

Berwald frowned. "Y're lyin'." The Swede was straightforward, the tone of his voice cutting through Mathias' chest. Eirik continued to stare at the ceiling, and after a few moments, he said in his usual emotionless voice: "That someone is Elizaveta." It wasn't a question, but more a declaration. It couldn't be anyone else-after all, he was being like this after the Hungarian visited.

Mathias flinched, both from Berwald's and Eirik's words. _Fuck._ He closed his eyes, and as if he hadn't heard either of the Nordics' words, he responded: "_I'm fine._"

...

Lili continued to listen to the Hungarian, thinking as she did so. _So she doesn't feel that way for Roderich, but that means she has feelings for someone else, if she suddenly realized this..._ Lili slightly frowned at Elizaveta's words. _Not approve?_ The girl stared at the other female nation for a while, forming her thoughts into words. The Liechtensteinerin always told how she felt about an issue, and she wasn't going to change that now. "Lizzy...I don't think you need to think about what others will think." She nodded, adding emphasis to her words. She walked up and ordered some walnut and honey ice cream, one of her personal favorite flavors, and ordered some coffee toffee for the Hungarian, knowing it was one of her favorites. She paid the cashier and led Elizaveta to a table tucked away in the corner, almost like a secret meeting spot.

"If...if you really don't have any feelings towards Roderich, and if he's been replaced by someone else..." She bit her lip, wondering how to phrase it. "I...I think you should do what you feel is the right thing to do. Roderich has no control over you." Lili spoke confidently, before taking a bite of her ice cream, shivering from the cold dessert sliding down her throat.

* * *

_'But it's not that important, really.'_ That sentence hit Valdimar. _No, it's important. There's no way that something so trivial can affect you so much._ He couldn't thank Eirik and Berwald enough for pointing out Mathias' false words - he would have said the same thing. The Icelander himself rose from his seat, raising his voice. "No - for the last time, you _aren't_." Tino and Peter drew back a centimeter, stunned by Valdimar's sudden reaction - he was usually peaceful and calm, but it was very rare to see him so startled. "You keep pretending and saying that you're okay when you know we'll catch you anyways. Stop trying to escape this - no matter how many times you try to run, we'll always hunt you down. What in the world has Elizaveta done to you?"

Peter heard Hanatamago whimper, and brought the dog's ear up to his mouth. He whispered lowly, "It'll be okay. They'll find a way to solve this." Tino watched Peter's move, more worried than ever; he brought his head up to view Berwald's face, and noticed that he was appearing more serious than ever. _Mathias, please don't cause something bad again._

...

Elizaveta was about to insist to pay for her portion of the ice cream, but had been carried away with thoughts about her words. She sighed quietly, uttering, "Thank you." _Thinking about what others think..._ The Hungarian sneaked a few licks from her snack; she was surprised to taste the so familiar flavor she had always loved. This time, the woman took a bite off of her ice cream, letting the taste and cool, frozen treat melt in her mouth. _She's right. But then again..._

She was even more surprised to hear Lili express her opinion. For such a young girl, she definitely could speak up for herself - Elizaveta was happy to know that she had such a helpful friend. "I agree with you, but I value Roderich's thoughts as well. If he disapproves of my own thoughts, it could sever the string that we've been holding together for so many years. You know how much I don't want to do that."

Again, the Hungarian sighed, debating whether or not she should tell the girl about Mathias. She spotted several birds fly by, one chasing after another while dancing in the air, and then shook her head to reenter reality. Somehow, that made her decide what to say. "Lili, please don't tell anyone this and keep this to yourself, but I think Mathias has stolen my heart."

* * *

Mathias sat in stunned silence, staring at the Icelander. He rarely saw Valdimar like this-sure, the other Nordics always picked on him jokingly and he would always get frustrated, but the fire the Dane saw burning in him this time was different. Eirik and Berwald were also a bit surprised by Valdimar's action and outburst. Berwald coughed into his hand before crossing his arms, continuing to stare silently at Mathias, as if his eyes were burning holes through the Dane.

Eirik turned his attention to Mathias again, eyes narrowed. "Yeah, what did she do-beat you up or something?" The Norwegian knew very well this wasn't the case, but hoped his teasing would cause Mathias to snap and spill whatever he was keeping locked up. He mentally smirked when it seemed to work.

"_No!_ Goddammit." Mathias huffed. It was pointless now to try covering it up-the others had him cornered and weren't letting him go until he told them the truth. He wasn't surprised-and it secretly warmed his heart. His eyes stared at the ground again, and seeing no other way to phrase it, he finally spoke, his voice low. "I think...I think I've fallen for Elizaveta."

* * *

**_A/N:  
_**

_-cue dramatic music-_**_  
_**


	14. Chapter 13

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 13**

* * *

Lili continued to take a couple of small bites from the cold treat as she listened to Elizaveta, nodding in understanding about how she felt towards Roderich. "I see." _Sever the string..._ The Liechtenstienerin got lost in her own thoughts for a little bit before noticing Elizaveta's distracted gaze, following her eyes to see the dancing birds. The girl smiled, enjoying the game that the flying creatures were playing. However her eyes widened in shock when Elizaveta confessed about her feelings, even though she had had her suspicions.

But Lili was glad that the Hungarian had trusted her with it, and flashed Elizaveta a small sympathetic smile. "Lizzy...really? You're not kidding, right?"

* * *

Silence came upon Valdimar, Tino, and Peter for what felt like hours.

Even Valdimar seemed so shocked that he nearly stumbled over himself while falling back onto the couch behind him. _It's not as bad as I thought it would be - no, it's more like it's different than what I thought._ The Icelander didn't expect this - one day without Mathias, and he's already fallen for another nation. And a nation who was once _married_ to a man who she still seemed to be glued to.

Valdimar searched for the other Scandinavians' reactions. Tino appeared have his head blown off. Peter didn't seem to understand this situation all that well, but still was surprised by this. His eyes fell back upon Mathias, who looked defeated; sighing, Valdimar thought this over. _Well, at least she isn't married. But how does Elizaveta feel about Mathias?_ Finally, after a long silence, the teen answered as he regained composure, "I...I see." A pause. "If that's really how you feel, then...I guess you should just follow it."

...

"No, I'm not." Her answer seemed to come out too soon and abruptly for the Hungarian. _I've...I've said it._ The atmosphere seemed to shift: Elizaveta's face saddened, and her hands moved up to her face to mask it, while making sure her dessert didn't contact her skin. The thoughts she wanted to suppress had haunted her mind again. _This is my punishment for not listening to Roderich, isn't it?_

The voice at the other end seemed to hear her. _Yes, it is._

A layer of water glazed over her eyes in her palms uncontrollably - that voice had further aggravated her mood. _No, dammit - not in front of Lili. Oh, I'm so sorry..._ Her voice cracked greatly as she spilled herself out. "Lili, I don't know what to do. Roderich loathes that man, and he, for sure, won't like hearing this at all. How am I able to maintain a good relation with him if I'm interested in a man that he's disgusted with?"

* * *

Berwald and Eirik were equally stunned at Mathias' response. They were at a loss of words, as this issue had never come up before. As Eirik stared at Mathias, he couldn't help but feel bad. _He...he looks so dead._ He could never remember a time that Mathias looked like this...the only time I he had seen the Dane even worse off then this was at the end of the Kalmar Union.

Mathias continued to stare at the ground, aware that all eyes were on him now, more than before. He wasn't surprised by their shocked silence. As he listened to Valdimar, his eyebrows knitted and glared at the ground with such intensity anyone would have thought a fire would start on the spot.

"It's not that easy," Mathias spoke, a hard edge to his voice. "I just...I don't know what's wrong with me." He buried his face in his hands, his elbows resting on his knees. He felt a headache starting to develop.

Berwald stared at him for a while longer, than finally decided to speak up, though embarrased by what he was about to say. "Mat'ias, if w'at I saw w's w'at I t'ink it w's," he paused. "Th'n look' l'ke she's attra'ted t'you too." The Swede blinked, remembering how both Mathias and Elizaveta had been in a daze when he interrupted...whatever it was that they were doing.

Mathias sat silently. _She's probably over at Roderich's now. I wonder if that bastard said anything..._

...

Lili's eyes widened in surprise and she let out a small squeak at the sigh of the Hungarian. She quickly got up and took the ice cream out of Elizaveta's hands, placed both of their treats down in a bowl on the table, and hugged her tightly. _I...I've never seen her like this! What am I supposed to do?_ The Hun's sadness seeped through to the Liechtensteinerin, as emotionally connected to the other female. "Sssssh, Lizzy." Her voice was calm, quiet, and soothing. She continued to hug her tightly, not wanting to let go until the Hungarian felt better. "You're just going to have to tell him. If Roderich is mature, he'll accept it and move on with his life. If he makes a huge deal of it...well, then he's just not worth your time." Lili felt bad saying such words against a man who had been so kind to her, but it was the truth. She couldn't bare to see her friend like this.

* * *

Tino frowned. _He looks so miserable._ Again, the Finn wanted to help - walking over to the Dane and plopping down beside him on the sofa, he folded his fingers together as he bent over. "There's nothing wrong with you, Mathias." A smile adorned the boy's face. "There's nothing wrong with falling in love. Though..." He cut himself off, realizing what kind of trouble Mathias could get in if he had an affair with _Roderich's_ ex-wife, of all nations.

Valdimar cleared this throat. "I hate to say this, but Roderich's in the way, isn't he? But if what you say is true, Berwald...maybe Elizaveta is going through the same thing right now." He tried to imagine being in either Mathias' or Elizaveta's situation. _That's pretty tough,_ he told himself, beginning to sympathize for his fellow Nordic. Valdimar raised his head up to see Tino settled beside Mathias - with his face in his hands. His chest seemed to have lost the location of his heart for a moment. _Oh, no, please don't cry._

...

The ends of the Hungarian's sleeves began to absorb the tears that had shed from Elizaveta's eyes. She began to sob audibly, sniffing now and then. "No, Lili - you don't...I can't leave Roderich. He's one of the only few people who has ever been there for me for so long, but this...I've never given my heart over to anyone besides Roderich until now, and his reaction...I can't..." Elizaveta took a deep breath, attempting to alleviate herself. She finally withdrew her hands from her face, revealing a face stained with dry tears and melancholy green eyes. "I...I guess the only thing I could do is tell him."

The Hungarian returned the Liechtensteinerin's hug, nearly wanting to choke her in her embrace for seeming neutral in this situation. Her voice seemed to soften as Lili's did, and murmured into her ear, "Thank you so much, Lili. I'm glad you're here for me when I need it."

* * *

Berwald and Eirik nodded at the Icelander's words. It was true that Roderich would be a dilemma-after all, he was still so protective over his former wife. The Norwegian sighed, leaning back on the sofa again.

"You always have to get yourself into a mess, don't you?" Eirik couldn't bare to look at the Dane-it was such a pathetic sight. _Oh Mathias, what are you getting yourself into?_ The Norwegian shook his head at the thought.

Mathias muttered into his hands: "I know, I know, dammit." He wished he could just crawl into a hole at the moment. Never in his life had the Viking felt so..._weak_. He was disgusted with himself. He couldn't get his mind off of the Hungarian and it was starting to drive him insane. "It doesn't help that I ran in with the guy the other day either..."

...

Lili felt her heart sink as the Hungarian spoke, especially when she uncovered her face. It pained the Liechtensteinerin to look into Elizaveta's eyes, and she let herself be crushed in her embrace. "Lizzy, you know I'm here for you. It's no problem at all." She smiled before speaking again. "It'll be hard, but when does a Hun let anything scare her away?" Lili giggled, wanting to see Elizaveta be strong in the situation. It disheartened her to see her as anything less than the strong woman she was. "It'll be okay, I promise."

* * *

Again, Valdimar was struck. _...I wish this was a dream, but it isn't. All of this doesn't feel real at all._ He hated to fire so many questions at the Dane, thought it couldn't be helped - Mathias was at the center of attention, right here, right now. "Wait, you _ran_ into him? From the way you phrase it, it doesn't sound like the greatest thing happened with him." _If that aristocrat did anything to Mathias..._

Tino laid a hand on Mathias' shoulder for comfort, almost hesitating to do so since Mathias became quite violent when angered or frustrated. "Nothing...that bad happened, did it?" The Finn just prayed for the best for his friend - there wasn't much he could do at this point aside from supporting him. _His relationship with Elizaveta would be in shreds if Roderich found out, anything like that..._

...

Elizaveta's lips twitched; eventually, her lips curved up into a smile, and genuinely chuckled. "Of course - again, thank you, Lili...ah!" She turned to look at her ice cream, checking to see if it had melted. Even though there was a puddle of tan liquid, there was still a ball of the ice cream barely surviving. Quickly, though still mannerly, the Hungarian swept her tongue across the surface of the leftover chunk. "I'll do my best to not upset Roderich. Here, Lili, eat the rest of yours before it becomes a soup." Elizaveta giggled as well, finally getting back into her happy mood, handing over her ice cream.

* * *

Mathias finally lifted his face from his hands, blinking a few times from the sudden light. He sighed. _Might as well tell them everything... _

"I had nothing better to do so I decided to go on a long walk. Before I knew it I ended up pretty far south from here, and I bumped into Elizaveta. She invited me over and we just chilled out for a bit. But apparently Roderich has some issues going on that were getting to her, and he actually left a letter saying he was going to drop by." Mathias paused, taking a breath. "I told I'd go as not to make things awkward, but before I could even leave her house, next thing I know I have a gun pointing in my face by that aristocratic bastard." Mathias scowled at the memory.

Eirik jolted up and looked at the Dane in surprised. "Roderich? With a gun? What the hell?" He looked around to see the reactions of the other Nordics. Berwald too looked a bit surprised. _That's not good..._

...

Lili smiled widely, glad to have Elizaveta happy again. "Oh wow-you're right!" Lili took the ice cream from the Hungarian's hands and started to eat it again. She giggled as both girls had to try to prevent the ice cream from dripping on them as they ate. _Oh Lizzy, please be okay._

After a little more talking and giggling and smiling, Lili licked her lips happily as she finished off the cold delight. She turned to Elizaveta to see if she was finished, and wondered if they would head back to Roderich's home.

* * *

Valdimar's irises began to burn a blue flame. _That...bastard! Why would he do that?_ He was glad that Mathias didn't break down here - that would have been the worst of them. _I don't want to remember the last time_ he _cried._ The Icelander didn't think of it in such a way that he hated it when the Dane cried, but rather, he hated the atmosphere whenever he did. Valdimar pictured the Austrian in his mind, as well as a gun rammed up into his face. _That is not a pleasant surprise. Ever._

Tino even yelped from the word 'gun' itself, which startled Peter and his dog. The animal yapped several times as if to say to the Finnish teen, 'Don't do that, you scared me!' "A-A gun? You didn't fight in Elizaveta's house, did you? W-What happened? Why did he do that?" This was just like the scenario when Mathias told him a scary story - but worse, because it was real. Peter, also getting the same vibe from Tino, wobbled over to his 'mother' and settled down in his lap, listening intently. _Man, this sounds so cool...only if I was a recognized nation already, then I'd be in situations like these, desu yo!_

...

Elizaveta grinned, trying to focus on enjoying and finishing her midday snack rather than think about the problems she had. The Hungarian licked a finger in which the ice cream had dripped on, giggling alongside the Liechtensteinerin. She had thrown in the rest of the food into her mouth when Lili had swallowed the remainders of hers. Standing up, Elizaveta nodded to the other female nation to indicate that she was ready to leave. "Let's get back to Roderich's house," she suggested, though not too confidently. "I'm sure your brother is going to worry about you if you stay out here any longer."

* * *

Mathias shook his head. "Of course we didn't fight, especially her house of all places." The Dane's eyes narrowed at the memory. "He was just being defensive, thinking I had done some harm to Elizaveta. Of course," Mathias flashed a grin, some humor returning to his voice, "He always loves to flatter. Called me 'the most despicable and unruly of the five Nordics' and a 'boastful, arrogant, infamous Viking'-so you can see we have a lovely relationship already." The Austrian's insults still rang in the Dane's head, and he couldn't help but smirk, a flash of darkness appearing in his eyes, though it quickly went away.

Eirik and Berwald stared at Mathias in amazement. The Norwegian repeated Mathias' words in his head. _Roderich seriously said that? I'd like to see what he thinks of the rest of us..._ Berwald too seemed a bit frustrated, taking the insult at being a Viking personally, as the other Nordics probably did as well.

"So...what happened?" Eirik asked cautiously, knowing very well what Mathias could do when angered. The Dane shook his head again, sighing. "Nothing. Elizaveta came and saw what was happening, broke it up-in good timing too-and Roderich went back home."

...

Lili stood up as the Hungarian did, nodding back to her. "Yeah...though I'm more worried about what my brother could have possibly done in my absence." She laughed. "Let's hope we don't find the two of them strangling each other." The Liechtensteinerin started to walk back towards Roderich's manor, though pausing to wait for Elizaveta before leaving the area of the ice cream shop. _At least she's smiling again...I hope Roderich doesn't make this into something worse than it really is._

* * *

Tino released a sigh. _That's good. I could see him get into a fight with Roderich in one split of a second...Elizaveta must have really helped then._ As he hinted before, the Finn wasn't against Mathias falling for that Hungarian nation, though what bothered him was the political issues and debates that could arise. Also, there was a good reason to like her - how, exactly, the Dane developed feelings for her, Tino couldn't seem to pick that out, nor thought that he should.

_As expected of Roderich, to just leave - so what I heard about him was true,_ Valdimar thought, tapping his chin with his index finger. He chuckled from Mathias' brightened tone of voice and the story that came along with it. _I don't think his visit to Elizaveta's house caused his emotions to turn - that's not enough. It probably started when he let her over to his place...and that wine stain..._ The Icelander became curious - he didn't want to ask anything too personal or too obvious, but formed a question he deemed more appropriate to bring up: "Did your visit to her house alone make you fall for her?" _I'd like to know what happened at your house, Mathias. It's frightening to arrive there and see something like that one step in._

...

Elizaveta caught up with Lili quickly, as to not let her wait for too long. She, too, let out a laugh tinted with worry. "Yes, I hope they didn't do something like that." The walk back to Roderich's home didn't take too long, and by the time she was within his property, the Hun closed her eyes and took a deep breath. _Please, Roderich, don't make such a big issue out of this._ Her hand reached out to the door and twisted the handle, pulling it lightly to open the entrance. Roderich's familiar voice began to fill her ears.

"Vash, you do know that I think through these things for an extended amount of time before settling with a decision. I have my reasons for my choices." The Austrian was discussing with the Swiss for what seemed like hours, his eyes serious and convincing. Though he had been sitting at a table just to converse with Vash, Roderich still maintained his manners and composure, which was evident through his posture - a straight back and hands folded on the piece of furniture in front of him, but no elbows on it.

His attention veered away from the Swiss as the two women returned; Roderich nodded at the two of them as he murmured, "Welcome back. Did you two enjoy yourselves?"

Elizaveta felt her heart ache again. _Why am I feeling like this? I hope it's just that I'm nervous to talk to him, not that I want to be with both Mathias or Roderich..._ She mentally kicked away her excessive concerns and walked up to the Austrian at a leisurely, constant pace. "Yes; thank you, Roderich."

* * *

Eirik allowed himself to lean against the back of the sofa again, himself glad that the Dane was starting to cheer up again. _So Elizaveta came to his aid. Interesting._ He was thinking thoughts similar to Valdimar's, and turned to Mathias, wondering if the Dane would tell them anything. Berwald continued to stay silent, though he believed he already had a good idea about the situation.

Mathias shook his head again. "Not...quite." He paused. "Things were sorta awkward after that...but then she just asked if she could come over for a visit since she had nothing else to do. And so she did. Aaaaaand then we just sort of chilled and I guess it just started from there." The Dane obviously kept out anything more on purpose, such as what happened with Gilbert and then the drinking..._Oh hell like I'm telling them anything about that._

...

Lili walked in quietly behind the Hungarian, glad to see the two men having a peaceful though serious conversation. Vash also sat erect in his seat, across from Roderich, his pose similar to the Austrian's. "Yes, I realize this Roderich. But I hope you have realized _all_ the consequences, not just those affecting you but the other nations as well." Though there was a trace of bitterness in the Swiss' voice, it was still calm, allowing a wave of relief to wash over the Liechtensteinerin. Vash turned to the two women, by instinct looking his sister up and down to see that she was okay.

Before her brother could ask, Lili chirped up. "Yes, we had quite a wonderful time. Thank you." Vash coughed and turned back to the Austrian. "Well, I suppose we should leave now. Lili and I have some issues to deal with tomorrow morning." He got up, beckoning his sister to his side, who complied. The Swiss nodded to the Hungarian. "Thank you, Elizaveta, for watching over her." His focus went back to Roderich. "I suppose we'll meet again soon."

* * *

Valdimar slowly mumbled a muffled 'mmhmm'. He could tell that Mathias was avoiding certain things, but he couldn't blame him - if he wanted to keep it to himself, then let him be. _Plus, it'd be incredibly awkward to hear the details._ A shiver crawled down his spine.

Tino leaned his head to the side. "But...are you okay, Mathias? Why don't we eat? I'm sure that, after getting that off your shoulders, you're hungry now." He sent a smile to the Dane as Peter bounced in the Finn's lap, agreeing that he was starving. "Also, if Roderich starts to become a problem, we'll be there for you." Valdimar, over on the other sofa, nodded in congruence. Though the two Nordics knew that the Dane wasn't a child and could look after himself, they still worried about his dangerous side - his Viking side - and the Mathias they loved.

...

Roderich bowed, particularly to Vash's sibling. "Of course." The cough snatched away his attention from Lili and he straightened up, simply nodding to the Swiss. "I'm quite certain we shall," the Austrian confirmed, though curtained his dislike for discussing politics with the nation very well.

Elizaveta wore a grin on her face to the brother of the two siblings. "Anytime, Vash." _Good, looks like I kept good watch over her, seeing as Vash didn't blow off a fuse._ She turned to gaze down at the Liechtensteinerin, her voice softer. "Again, thank you, Lili. I'm glad that you came over today. Good luck tomorrow morning." On the inside, she wished that Lili would have stayed, just in case the Hungarian pulled Roderich's nerve while confronting him. _I don't want to handle it alone if it ends up that way._

* * *

Mathias looked to the Finn, giving him a small smile. "Yes, I'm fine Tino." His heart stirred at Tino's supporting words, and he was tempted to just wrap everyone in a giant bear hug, valuing the few moments that the Nordics could just be a family. He let out an exaggerated sigh and jumped up to his feet. "Thanks you guys-seriously."

To Eirik and Berwald's relief, the Dane seemed to have regained his cheerful and humorous demeanor, and nodded in agreement to Tino's words. "P'rty h'ngry m'self." The Swede put a hand on his stomach for emphasis. He walked over and put a hand on the Dan'e shoulder, squeezing it lightly. "An' y'know we're her' f'you." Mathias blinked in the Swede in surprise, but nodded back, confidently. "Yeah yeah-I'm not a baby you guys. Don't forget who raised all of you." He grinned. _Good. We're off the topic. I really don't want to talk about it anymore._

Eirik rolled his eyes. _That's the Mathias I know_. "Yeah, I'm actually pretty hungry myself. So...what's for dinner?"

...

Lili smiled at Elizaveta. "Of course, Lizzy. And thank you!" The Liechtenstienerin fidgeted. _I don't really want to leave her...what if Roderich gets out of hand? But brother wants to leave..._

Vash nodded to the Austrian. "See you then." He turned to depart Roderich's home, but realized that Lili was hesitating, looking preoccupied. He slightly frowned at his sibling. "Lili? Didn't you hear? We're going." _What did those two talk about?_

Lili's head snapped up at the Swiss' words, realizing that she should leave. _But..._ "Yes, of course. Sorry." She quickly turned to Roderich and nodded to him. "Thank you once again. I hope we didn't cause too much trouble." With that, the siblings left, closing the door of the manor behind them.

Once outside, Lili stopped. Vash walked a few steps before realizing his sister wasn't following him. "_Schwester_, what's up? We have to go home." The Swiss was puzzled by the Liechtensteinerin's actions. Lili, however, bit her lip, wondering how to tell her brother what she wished to do. "U-um..._bruder_, I was wondering...if I could have some time to myself, just for a bit?"  
Vash's eyes widened at her request. He quickly huffed: "_What?_ No, not now-it will be dark soon. I can't let you-"

"I am very well aware of the time. But really, I just need to think about some things...and I know how to defend myself." She cut off her brother, patting the gun concealed under her uniform. "You've taught me well. I'll be back before dinner, I promise." Lili didn't mention that what she really wanted to do was to eavesdrop on Elizaveta and Roderich. She felt bad for having to leave the Hungarian in such a situation, alone by herself. _Please Vash..._

The Swiss still couldn't help but stare at his sister for what seemed like ages. _She's never before asked to be left alone._ Vash was ready to tell her "no" and that she was coming home and drag her along if he had to, but the look in the Liechtensteinerin's eyes-_such confidence_-only caused him to sigh.

"Fine. But only because we only live ten minutes from here. But if anything happens-"

"Don't worry-I'll be home safe. Besides, nothing is threatening here." Lili was overjoyed that her brother was actually cooperating. Vash gave her sister one last look before nodding. "Okay." He turned and walked away. _Like hell I'd let her be alone._ He decided to watch his sister from a distance, making sure she wasn't getting herself into trouble.

* * *

"If you guys want to eat that fish I got for Mathias, we can all have that! Or anything else in those boxes," Tino happily offered, picking up Peter as he stood up. The youngest nation nearly dropped Hanatamago in the process, but was able to carry the weight of the dog with him. Peter chanted childishly, "Let's eat, let's eat! I want food, desu yo!" Barely capable of cradling his 'child', Tino steadily ambled over to the kitchen with penguin like steps to amuse Peter.

Valdimar, too, got onto his feet. "I'm fine with that." He walked over to Eirik to rejoin his brother, though surveyed the Dane on the way over. He, too, noticed that his Puffin adjusted itself on his shoulder, as if to say that things seemed calmer now. _Looks like he's pretty happy now. Let's just hope the mood can stay like this. _

The former couple made sure that the two left unharmed, and once the click of the door was heard, silence came upon Roderich and Elizaveta for a minute; both of them were compiling their thoughts within that time frame. The Austrian decided to speak up first. "...Are you alright, Elizaveta? What happened?" He returned to the table he sat at before, though in the other seat so that he wouldn't reminiscence of the talk he had with Vash just minutes ago.

...

Elizaveta followed his steps, easily reading what he wanted her to do. She settled down across from the man, fixing her dress to feel comfortable in her chair. Her hands, palm sides up, stared at her as she gazed down upon them. Her memories of last night seemed to play in her mind at lightning speed. "I'm sorry, Roderich. I drank quite a bit of wine, only because my visit to Mathias' house was such a rare occasion; he was telling me a scary story, and I happened to get startled by a book that had fallen, so I threw a wine bottle at it."

She flustered lightly, embarrassed to be telling him such a ridiculous anecdote. _Roderich must disapprove of this._ However, Roderich was actually quite amused, for he could easily imagine that - if he had done the same thing to her (though he wouldn't, just because he wasn't that much of a storyteller), and the same thing happened, she would have performed those same exact reactions. Plus, he enjoyed that rare moment in which the woman blushed. Elizaveta continued without awaiting for a reply. "Then I got up to clean it up, but then I tripped, and I landed on the glass with my hands. Mathias tended to the wounds, though."

_...I shouldn't have said that,_ Elizaveta realized, her chest receiving an unusually hard thump from her heart.

Roderich's finger twitched from hearing the Dane's name. _At least she was taken care of,_ he attempted to think positively. "I see-"

"Roderich, I'm sorry for doing such a thing," the Hungarian burst aloud, cutting off the flow of the Austrian's words. "You're not too fond of drinking, nor do you appreciate Mathias all that much."

"Elizaveta, calm down." Struck, the Hungarian held her breath briefly before exhaling, her shoulders losing tension as she did so. "I'm not your father. You don't have to seek approval from me for anything. You're a grown up woman who can take care of herself very well - though you can get out of hand sometimes, you know how to control or fix yourself."

The Hungarian felt her insides tie up into a secure knot. _Only if you knew what I wanted to tell you, Roderich._

* * *

Berwald followed Tino to the kitchen. "M'ght as well. It'll g'to w'st oth'wise." The Swede was amused with his "wife"'s actions, but gently pulled Peter away from him. "Why don't y'go t'Mat'ias?" He knew that the micronation loved Mathias, since he always spoiled him and was the "cool uncle".

Eirik looked to his sibling, making eye contact in such a way that if anyone else was to see them would think they were telepathically communicating. Mathias had gotten over the two of them having their bromance by now and pulled up his sleeves, finding it a little warm in the Finn's house. "So, what's the plan for tonight?"

...

Lili watched her brother depart before sneaking around to sit below a window, her position hidden from any passerbys or onlookers. After quietly settling down, she was glad that she could hear the Hungarian's and Austrian's voices rather clearly. Her heart fluttered when Elizaveta made her outburst, and she couldn't help but smile at Roderich's reply. _See Lizzy? He seems to be doing pretty well so far..._

Vash walked a distance away, up a hill before looking back. He could make out the Austrian's manor from where he stood, but could see no sign of his younger sibling. He took a deep breath. _Lili, what's on your mind?_ He figured he'd wait a few more minutes-turning around, he could see his own home in the distance. _I have to have faith in her._ Besides, the Swiss was proud that he had taught the Liechtensteinerin how to handle a gun, and she was quite vicious with it, from what he had seen in the shooting range. Those few minutes passed quickly, and letting out another sigh, he turned around and headed for home. _She better come back soon..._

* * *

Peter wailed as Berwald pulled him out of Tino's hands. The Finn, too, turned around to see what was going on. The young hopefully-to-be-nation stared into the Swede's eyes, somewhat frightened for a moment from his expression, though his eyes began to sparkle as he nodded and set down the dog. Hanatamago skipped over to the Finn as Peter determinedly approached the tall, mighty Viking and, like a squirrel, climbed onto his back. An ecstatic expression swept across his face. "C'mon, Unc'! You can't skip out on a meal, desu yo!"

Tino thought about Mathias' words for a moment, trying to think up of something creative to do while the family was together. He smiled as he came upon an idea. "How about we go outside after dinner to see the Northern Lights? I think there will be some out here tonight."

Valdimar returned Eirik's look, as if to give him a sort of reply, though perked as Tino mentioned sightseeing. He had seen these auroras many times from his own home, but he believed that Tino's home always had a more impressive view of them. Also, to observe them with the rest of his family was an experience he didn't want to miss. "I'd like to do that."

...

"Also, Elizaveta," Roderich continued, sounding as if he was trying to _completely_ convince her, "You maintain better relations with other nations than I do. Yes, I dislike Mathias - but I have my own opinion about him, and you have yours." Elizaveta's stomach seemed to churn. "We don't have to be in absolute accordance for me to remain friends with you."

The Hun nodded as thanks; the way that Roderich spoke made her believe that everything would turn out well if she confessed to him here. The fact that he said friends, too, seemed to boost her confidence...yet she still hesitated.

"Is there something on your mind?" She was too transparent; Roderich had analyzed her clearly, and was rather skilled at it for being with her so long. Elizaveta took a breath. _Step by step, Elizaveta._

"Roderich." Her voice croaked there, and the Hungarian paused to recover her normal tone. "If that's what you say...then I want to tell you something. Please promise me you won't break our bond or friendship."

The Austrian was astounded. Never had Elizaveta thought of one thing that could tear them apart - he actually became rather anxious to know what she had for him. "No, I wouldn't, Elizaveta," he murmured softly.

The woman swallowed with a dry throat. Her hands started to rattle without her control, and attempted to prevent them from doing so by grasping one hand. It didn't help. Her thoughts were now disorganized and wild - Elizaveta could feel the blood rushing through her head, every pounding heartbeat against her body, the cold air eating at her hands...

"Elizaveta?"

The Hungarian gasped silently, happening to remember Lili and her words of comfort spontaneously, which gave her the courage to let it go. Her words were clear, but sudden: "I've fallen for Mathias."

* * *

"Woah!" Mathias nearly lost his balance when Peter decided to attach himself to him. He laughed, and hoisted the boy onto his shoulders. "I'm not skipping out on a meal, don't worry, kiddo." It was nice to forget about his troubles and to spend some quality family time with the others, and he grinned at Tino's suggestion. "That sounds like an awesome idea!" Mathias didn't get to see too much of the Northern Lights (he was a bit too far south), so to be able to see them along with the others was an offer he couldn't refuse. His thoughts started to drift back to the past, but he quickly started playing with Peter to get his mind off of things.

"I concur-seeing the Lights would be great." Eirik responded, though he also saw them on an often enough basis. The Norwegian watched Mathias and Peter, lightly shaking his head. He walked over and set up the dining table so they could eat together. Berwald joined him, bringing out the plates. "Look' l'ke we're seein' t'lights."

...

Lili played with a blade of grass as she listened, nodding at the Austrian's words. _Good. Looks like things shouldn't be an issue._ She leaned against the outer wall of the house, straining her ears after hearing some silence. The Liechtensteinerin than realized that it wasn't that she couldn't hear them, but that Elizaveta had taken a long pause. _Lizzy, you can do it._ She tried to channel her energy and thoughts to the Hungarian, closing her eyes. _I know you can._

She then inhaled and took a deep breath when she heard her friend say the words that she was so afraid of uttering. Lili waited for the Austrian's response, praying that he wouldn't make a deal about it.

* * *

Peter was joyous that Mathias decided to let him stay on his back and giggled as the Dane entertained him. Valdimar grinned to himself, glad that their normal selves had returned, even if Eirik shook his head at them. However, he wanted to discuss something with his brother. "Hey, Eirik...do you have a feeling that Mathias is hiding something?" the Icelander murmured quietly, his eyes on Mathias to make sure he wasn't overhearing them. "You know, that wine stain."

"Alright! I'm sure the Northern Lights are going to be even brighter tonight than any other day," the Finnish boy replied to the Swede with a smile, removing their dinner from the refrigerator and heating it up. "Oh, and thanks, Berwald. Could you also get out the utensils?"

...

Roderich was stunned.

He was stunned for so long that he thought he died.

The Austrian didn't expect this at all. She had visited him once, and he was once her guest as well - but all in one day. _One_ day. He couldn't recall the last time the two had contacted each other in any way, but already, the woman who was once his spouse, and who still seemed attached to him, was already giving her heart out for another man. It even took the two of them a much longer time to get together; but in one day - with _Mathias_, of all people? He was convinced that this just was not true, that this was a dream, or...that Mathias had hypnotized her.

Roderich knew he shouldn't be jealous, or outraged, or - any of that. He knew that he should act like a gentleman, accept it, and move on. Somehow, he just couldn't touch that, even with the divorce papers and the time spent to pacify his feelings then. Mathias - oh how he _loathed_ that name now - it simply couldn't be true. His thoughts and emotions were beginning to smudge and mix together into a hodgepodge, to the point where he simply had no clue what do to anymore.

His voice was edging violence. "Are you serious?"

Elizaveta's hands automatically curled up into tight fists. Something seemed to punch her to say the answer. "Yes."

The Austrian noisily got onto his feet, his knee bumping into the table's leg as the chair beneath him jerked back with a grating skid. One hand clenched his face, while the other pounded the desk; remembering his promise - which he hoped that he would be sane enough to keep - Roderich opened his mouth, then closed it, and opened it again; finally, he muttered, "I'm sorry, Elizaveta. Let me think this over." He quickly made his way to his room, out of sight from the Hungarian.

Elizaveta remained where she was, her nails digging and injecting pain into her scarred hands. Her eyes, which have already cried too many times today, had given up holding back the tears she was fighting back once again. Two minuscule rivers streamed down her cheeks; beads of water eventually dripped from the frame of her lamented face onto her sleeves. Her quivering hands, now stained with blood, slowly rose to her face as the Hungarian weeped, in which the tears and crimson liquid polluted one another.

_This is the end of me._

* * *

Mathias was oblivious to Eirik and Valdimar as he continued to entertain Peter, looking over to Tino to nod in agreement. "Let's hope so." The Dane turned his attention back to the micronation, smiling. "So, think you're strong enough to take on ole' Uncle Matt?" Before Peter could respond, Mathias hoisted him off of his shoulders and began tickling him. He had to do everything he possibly could to keep his mind off of things-and he hoped he could keep it up while with his fellow Nordics.

Berwald muttered a "o'course" and went to setting out the rest of the table, allowing Eirik to step to the side with his brother. His eyes also glanced now and then to the Dane, and he kept his voice low: "He's obviously hiding something." The Norwegian remembered the wine stain on the ground, and then Berwald's encounter..."Thing is, I'm not sure if it's just some more personal stuff or what. 'Just chilled' could have various meanings."

...

Lili held her breath for so long that even she was amazed-that, or she had exhaled without her knowing it. The tone of Roderich's voice was not a good one, and it was obvious from the delayed response that he had been in shock. _Oh please oh please oh please Roderich don't get angry._ She cringed as she could hear the faint sound of something hitting wood, and a mutter she couldn't quite make out, and footsteps. The Liechtensteinerin's heart sank, and she thought her stomach had practically consumed it as she could make out-just barely-soft weeping. From her position, it was barely audible, but Lili strained her ears. _Lizzy..._ She wanted to get up and run into the house and hug the Hungarian and not let her go and tell her everything was going to be okay, but she knew it was bad enough that she was already there eavesdropping. _No...I'll wait to see what Roderich does._ She looked up at the darkening sky. _Oh Vash, please forgive me... _

* * *

Peter could feel the blood speeding up in his veins as Mathias questioned him. "Yeahhhh, desu yo! I could totally-" Without notice, he was suddenly brought down to the floor, bursting into laughter that filled every corner of the room with it. Tino jumped slightly, unexpecting this, but simply chuckled. _He's his normal self now, I hope._ The Finn went back to preparing the dinner, humming to himself.

Valdimar had to raise his voice's volume up a notch, not particularly affected by the micronation. "You're right. I don't think we can do much right now, but we should at least keep watch over him." He coughed silently before continuing, "Let's go eat dinner - I can smell the fish from here."

...

Elizaveta, once she calmed down (though not too much), removed her hands from her face, leaving spots of faded red on her skin. Her appearance wasn't her priority at the moment. She knew well that Roderich wouldn't come out for a long while, probably not until he soothed himself with music and piano playing, and carefully rose to her feet, sniffing. The Hungarian made her way to the exit of the home, not picking up any noises from down the hallway where Roderich walked down, and left.

Once the Hun quietly shut the door, she stood on the Austrian's porch for what felt like years. She wasn't sure where to go now. Elizaveta wanted to return home to calm herself down and be alone, but at the same time, she wanted Mathias; she wanted to flood her nostrils with his scent, be in his presence, and feel the warmth of his body against hers. Thinking once about Roderich's reaction could - and probably will - flick a trigger and cause her to burst into a sob again.

The Hungarian sighed, and slowly treaded through Roderich's land, with no destination in mind, allowing her feet to roam wherever they wanted to.

* * *

Eirik nodded to his sibling. "Yes-let us." The Norwegian walked to the now set table, casually slipping into a seat, his eyes drifting back to Mathias. _That guy..._  
Berwald got out some drinks (though he brought out some pop for Peter) and placed the glasses at the respective places. He too then sat down. He mused to himself how, after so many years, the Nordics always took the same seating arrangement around the table. He at one end, Mathias usually at the other, with Eirik and Valdimar on one side, Tino and Peter at the other. The Swede zoned out, lost in memories.

Mathias looked over, noticing everyone getting ready to eat. "Come on, you." He picked up Peter and went to the table, plopping down the micronation at his usual seat (or usual ever since Berwald had bought him off eBay...or adopted him, whichever way you wanted to look at it). He settled himself at the end opposite the Swede. He took a sip of his drink, and then absentmindedly, he softly drummed his fingers on the table. "Hey guys-after we see the lights and such, I'll be heading back home. I really need to crash." He didn't want any of them to force him to stay the night, and hoped that they would understand.

...

Lili perked up at seeing the Hungarian. _She's leaving..._ The Liechtensteinerin was about to run up to Elizaveta and hug her, but then realized that the Hun may want time alone, to herself. She quietly got up, brushing off her uniform, and walked in the direction of her home, pausing behind a tree to see where the Hungarian was going. _Should I? Maybe..._ Something told the girl not to approach Elizaveta. She sighed, knowing the voice was thinking of Vash. _Just for a bit, that's it. Just to let her know I'm here._ Before her inner voice could protest, she ran up behind the Hungarian, tightly hugging her, burying her face into her back and soft hair.

"Lizzy," Her voice was muffled. "I have to go home soon. But...I heard everything." She bit her lip at the confession of her eavesdropping. _Please don't get mad at me._

* * *

Valdimar trailed closely behind his brother and settled down in his traditional seat. He observed the rest of the dining table, seeing if everyone else had sat down in their chairs. Noticing that two spots were still open - with the exception of Tino, who was spreading out plates of various foods - the Icelander leaned back in his chair to witness Mathias dragging over Peter.

Peter was panting out the several remaining 'ha's inside of him from the tickling until a blank expression came upon his face. He blinked a couple of times as he was carried over to the dining table, also admiring his eye level from such a great height. _I wanna be this tall when I'm a nation! Then everyone would fear me, desu yo!_ He landed not too gently on his seat with an accompanied 'oof'.

Tino had finished setting up the dinner table after placing two baskets of bread rolls on each side. He then glanced at Mathias with a concerned look on his face, but eventually nodded. "Alright, if you say so."

Valdimar sat up at his words. _But...we_ left _him. Doesn't he usually want to stay?_ He eyed Eirik once more, but then looked away. _I guess I can't blame him. It looks like he had a long day. _

...

Elizaveta halted in the middle of her steps as Lili embraced her from behind as her head faced the starry night sky hovering above her. No matter how much her heart desired, the Hungarian couldn't form anymore tears to shed as her eyes were dry from doing so earlier. She was too conscious of her breathing while she searched for the right words to say to the other nation. Amazingly, her voice was fluid, clear, and motherly, yet was heavy with sorrow. "That's fine, Lili; I wanted you to stay when I spoke to him. But return home now - there's not a lot we can do right now."

* * *

Berwald snapped back to attention at the arrival of Peter at the table. He saw everyone was settling down, and he looked to Mathias. The Dane's eyes looked unfocused, as if he was lost somewhere else as he drummed his fingers and stared at his glass of beer. Eirik noticed Mathias' behavior and exchanged glances with Valdimar, knowing the two were having the same thoughts. _Well, if crashing will make him feel better. . . _

Mathias smiled at the fellow nations. "Thanks." _Great. They all gave me the "look"._ He then perked up and rubbed his hands together, again returning to his normal demanor. "Well then, let's dig in! C'mon Tino, you take too long! Sit down already!" Eirik shook his head once again at the Dane, sighing. But he agreed. "Yeah-if we don't hurry up and eat we might miss a chance at seeing the Northern Lights at their best."

...

Lili held onto Elizaveta for a bit longer, her body and hold easing as the Hungarian spoke. She nodded her head and then stepped back, looking at the other female nation. "Well..." For once, Lili couldn't think of what to say. She fidgeted and then stood erect, confidence back. "Yes. I'll head home now...but you know you can call me whenever you want to." Lili gave the Hungarian one last squeeze before turning around and running back to her home, taking note of the time. _Good-if I'm fast enough, I can still get home without making Vash too upset._ The Liechtensteinerin paused at the top of a hill, looking back once more at the Hungarian, before disappearing over the edge to her home.

* * *

At Mathias' command, Tino jumped again and nodded, too distracted with the facial expressions the other Nordics just had. "R-Right!" He quickly occupied his seat, completing and filling the dining table. "Dig in, everyone!"

Valdimar hesitantly reached out for a bread roll, mainly because of being distracted with Mathias' strange demeanor. He was on the verge of ranting again, but managed to hold it in. _What's wrong with you now?_ Valdimar wanted to yell at him, though did so in his head. _I hate it when you...ugh, forget this._ He stole a bite off of his bread, a little too violent to be considered good etiquette, but remembered to keep his head cool throughout the rest of the dinner.

Peter, with the belief that he'll grow stronger the more he consumed, grabbed everything he could possibly reach and dumped a handful of each type of Finnish food onto his plate. He was too focused with eating that he didn't focus on his table manners, and ate away. The host stared at the micronation for a moment before chuckling with a full but closed mouth.

...

Elizaveta had remained in the same spot for at least another few minutes after the Liechtensteinerin had left; the only type of answer that came out from the woman for the young girl was a simple nod, but nothing more. After sorting through many thoughts, the Hungarian's feet started shuffling off once more, again without any place to go in mind.

Her legs led her into German territory, though Elizaveta kept on a straight face. _I'm not surprised to see myself already heading towards Mathias' home._ Her eyes zoomed past the grass beneath her, an attempt to view the Danish land; but of course, from where she was, she had no hope. It was a rather long walk across Ludwig's property to get to his home, after all. Elizaveta hoped that she wouldn't bump across either of the two brothers, but what was even more on her mind was where the Dane was, what he was doing, how he was (with the thought of Roderich's reactions lurking deep in the back of her mind). Without fear yet with a rather expressionless face, her instincts and wishes continued to guide her to Mathias.

* * *

Eirik stole a glance at the Icelander, noticing the masked frustration. He turned his attention back to his plate and grabbed some food, keeping quiet. Berwald did the same, glancing at Mathias every now and then. As for the Dane, he heartily took some of the food and began to eat, though he noticed everyone's actions. _Sorry, guys. _

Dinner seemed to pass by surprisingly quick, with Mathias cracking a joke now and then and Eirik teasing him, so that the two got into friendly debates. Berwald shook his head now and then, trying to remember when was the last time all of them had been together for dinner like this. At the conclusion of their meal the nations got up and put away everything, not wanting to make Tino have to clean up his place by himself.

"All right-time for some sky n' light watchin'!" Mathias stretched, content with a full stomach. Berwald opened the door and the Nordics stumbled out, laughing and talking some more before settling on top of a hill behind the Finn's home. Mathias, Eirik and Berwald stopped their teasing and looked up, the Northern Lights already present in the sky. The Dane caught his breath, the beauty of the lights stirring his emotions.

They all sat in silence for some time, staring at the lights. Finally, as everyone seemed mesmerized, Eirik managed to speak, though his eyes remaining fixated on the sky. His voice was barely above a whisper and filled with nostalgia: "...I miss these days."  
Berwald and Mathias continued to stare at the sky, remaining silent for a few moments. Berwald was the first to break it. "M'too. It's n'ce, th's." _This occasion...though the reason we ended up being together..._ The Swede dismissed the thought.

Mathias closed his eyes, just for a moment. But in those few seconds he felt such a rush of emotions and warmth mixed with pain in his body that when he opened them again, he laughed. Eirik and Berwald were startled by the Dane's sudden outburst, taking their eyes off of the sky to look at him. Mathias grinned at the others. "You guys make it sound like we're not able to see each other and be like this anymore. I don't see why we don't do this more often." He sighed. The Dane then slowly got up.

"We're family, neighbors, right? We should just plan a day a month or somethin', y'know? Anyway..." He trailed off, again looking to the sky. The Northern Lights were slowly fading. leaving a violet and pink tinted sky in its leave. "I feel like I'm going to collapse on the spot. I better head home."

* * *

Elizaveta began to feel more sluggish and wiped out as she wandered across Ludwig's land; it was much like last night, when the lightning strikes startled her and the book thumped down (which still seemed to always gnaw at her memories, because she had so many connections to it) because she was tired then, too - and with that, the things she had done with Mathias when her Hun side had awoken hit her. Her throat became dry not for thirst, but rather the Dane himself. The Hungarian huffed a few times from her thoughts and the cold weather as her steps became uneven and less stable. _Dammit, not again._

She hated her situation right now - there wasn't someone there for her to give her warmth from the chilling air, someone to bump into when she was clumsy due to sleep, someone to comfort her; Elizaveta was alone, vulnerable, and emotionally damaged. She knew no one would be coming for her aid anytime soon. _Why didn't I just go home? It was just a few minutes away from Roderich's house._ Her attachment to the Viking had overridden the welfare of herself; she realized that she wouldn't be able to stay awake for much longer.

After walking through what seemed like a living hell, Elizaveta sensed a change in the air and even opened her mouth to taste and breathe it in to the fullest. Her eyes, which were stinging from the lack of moisture, closed to focus on her tastebuds; the air was salty and the aroma of the sea clung onto it, and also gave off an adventurous aura that seemed to make Elizaveta's leftover energy reach its pinnacle. Her lungs held her breath as she realized, without having to take a single glance, that she was on Mathias' land.

"I'm home," she barely whispered with a faint smile, before collapsing in a bed of flowers.

...

Valdimar and Peter were lost in their own thoughts as they swallowed their portions of the dinner: Valdimar deeply pondering about Mathias, Peter dreaming about becoming a superpower. The two of them, almost simultaneously, finished their meals at the same time, and were surprised to see how fast they had engulfed the Finnish plates. Tino was rather stunned as well, but was glad that his cooking wasn't bad and that they had cleaned his plates of any bit left.

Eventually, Tino had gotten up to set the plates aside for later cleaning, though was surprised to see that the other Nordics had joined him and tidied up after themselves. They had done much more than just stack a pile of dirty plates smeared with sauce or whatnot, which further astounded him. The bond between the six of them seemed stronger than ever right now. _A family is a family,_ he thought happily.

Valdimar, who gradually got over Mathias' sporting, had enlightened himself and almost struggled to catch up with the other Nordics to view the Northern Lights, as Tino had suggested doing. However, the aurora had appeared too close to his eyes even one step out of the Finn's home, making his eyes widen in awe. Peter's own eyes seemed to sparkle and glitter beneath the colorful glow of the lights. The Icelander's attention veered to the Dane as he laughed, startled at first, but smiled at his words.

"You're right. We should stay together more often." He began to feel a sense of regret - leaving Mathias behind the other day for his and Eirik's boating tripped seemed rather cruel. Valdimar's fist clenched. "But we know that we're with each other in our hearts."

Tino watched the Icelander, once again surprised. He chuckled. "Mmhmm!" the Finn agreed. Noticing that the Northern Lights were dying off, Tino released a muted sigh, then bobbed his head once at the Dane. "Okay then, Mathias - bye~! Don't fall asleep while walking back home." Valdimar had nothing to say - or didn't _want_ to say anything - but only gave Mathias a nod as a goodbye.

The micronation dashed over to the Dane and hugged his leg, too short (or Mathias too tall) to grasp him any higher. "Get well soon, okay? And make sure you come back so that you can train me, desu yo!"

* * *

Eirik also nodded towards Mathias. "Yeah, don't fall off the bridge and drown." Eirik said in his usual voice, but Mathias could detect the jest behind it. He grinned at the Norwegian. "I'll try-and I'll blame it on you if I do, just because you said it." Eirik shook his head, but was glad that the Dane wasn't moping.

"S'ya lat'r then, Mat'ias." The Swede nodded to him. "T'ke care." Even Berwald couldn't help but feel glad that the two of them could get along without being bitter.

Mathias laughed as he looked down at Peter. "Yeahyeah-you keep working on your moves, got it?" He then grinned at the Nordics, laughing again. "Thanks, everyone-don't go crazy with me gone, m'kay?"

With that, he waved goodbye and headed home.

Mathias lost track of how long it had been and how much time had passed since he left Tino's house. He let his body carry him forward, though all he wanted to do was collapse, exhausted for a number of reasons. While he was glad that the Nordics had opened up to him as a family and that he had been able to stay with them for some time, the emotions he felt with them could not replace his feelings when it came to Elizaveta.

He let his mind wander, and not to his surprise it went to the Hungarian, not just about the night before but picking at all the other memories he had of her, from sporting matches to wars to conferences. Of course, his mind quickly _did_ go back to the day and night before, and he realized right then that what he wanted more than anything was to feel the touch of the Hun's skin against his again, absorb her warmth, taste her. He was so lost in his dreamworld that it took him a few minutes to realize that he had entered his own territory. _Woah, did I even cross the bridge?_ The Dane couldn't remember-he couldn't remember anything about his walk back home. His mind had been full of memories and desires for him to have taken note of his surroundings.

As he wearily approached his house, his stomach churned just as now his home reminded him of the Hungarian. _I wonder if she's okay..._ As he looked around, taking in the area of his home, allowing himself to get back in touch with reality, he thought he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He turned and walked towards the strange lump in the flower bed and...

His heart skipped a beat. There she was. The tormentor of his thoughts, in the flesh, sleeping amongst the flowers. Mathias didn't know how long he stood there for, but it felt like eternity, and he could have, too. _What is she doing here? How long has she been here?_ She looked so...peaceful, despite, from what Mathias could make out, dried blood on her hands. He finally exhaled, and then looked around. _I hope she hasn't been here long..._ The Dane narrowed his eyes, and looked back to Elizaveta. As tired as he was himself, he felt a burst of energy, and with it he gently picked up the woman. _Oh, Eli. Do you have a screw loose in your head?_ Mathias shook his head, knowing he should be asking himself that same question. Cradling the Hun in his arms, the Viking made his way to his home, the warmth of Elizaveta keeping him content.

He had once again ignored his surroundings, his thoughts focused on the woman in his arms and his gaze fixated directly in front of him, but he was inside his house before he knew it. Now the exhaustion was starting to catch up, and he nearly stumbled as he made himself get to a bedroom. _So...tired..._ His vision started blurring, and his mind couldn't seem to make any comprehensible thoughts. Mathias put down Elizaveta on the bed, and made his way to leave the room. But his fatigue got the better of him, and fell next to her. _Okay, fine, two minutes, regain my energy._ He seemed to have lost the body with his brain, and before he knew it, everything was black.

* * *

**_A/N:_**

_If you haven't noticed, we only roleplay the other characters when we need to - after all, this is a DenHun roleplay, so we have no point of keeping the other minor characters in when they won't contribute to the pairing. XD So now it's back to just Denmark and Hungary again._

_The point where Denmark and the other Nordics look at the Northern Lights go by pretty fast, only to catch up with Hungary's side of the RP. Sorry about that. D;_

_Lovely how the atmosphere at Finland's house eventually contrasts with the one at Austria's house, haha. SO ANGSTY._


	15. Chapter 14

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 14**

* * *

The Hungarian's senses recovered to her in an instant, though it was so overwhelming that it took her far too long to adjust to them. Her hand clenched at whatever was beneath her hands - _wait a minute, a blanket...a bed?_ Her memories of the night before swarmed her mind, and remembered that the last place she ever recalled being was on the outskirts of Mathias' territory. _Then..._

Her eyes shot open, though the bright noon light outside had pierced her eyes right away. She squinted and strained to see where she was, also struggling with her dry and 'sticky' eyes, and was almost convinced that Ludwig (or Gilbert) had taken her to their home because she was so close by. However, it was disturbingly quiet for it to be that household - and the atmosphere too different for that matter - that she propped herself onto her elbows and scanned her surroundings.

And within her view, a little bit too close to her liking, was Mathias.

Elizaveta literally shot backwards in surprise, and not realizing he was sleeping, she stammered, "M-M-Ma-Ma-" The Hungarian cut herself off as another wave of memories crashed upon her, and smiled rather painfully. _Mathias._ Something then yanked; with the second surge of memories came Roderich's reaction to her confession. Her heart sunk significantly. _And Roderich..._

After a few seconds, she slid off of the bed and patted down her dress and her hair, again wandering in her thoughts. Her gaze was locked on the sleeping Nordic until her mouth gaped open, and she sneezed as the Hungarian squeaked an 'achoo'. Her hand curtained her nose. "Oh, I better have not gotten sick," Elizaveta mumbled to herself. She looked back down at Mathias, not entirely sure of what she should do. _He carried me back into his house, didn't he?_ A sigh flew out of her mouth. _And this is the second day I haven't brushed my teeth or showered._ The Hun twisted her body around to the left and to the right, seeking for a nearby restroom; she was tempted to just head off and shower, but figured that she should wait for Mathias to wake up.

* * *

Mathias had never had such a strange sleep before. He was at peace and completely knocked out due to fatigue, but at the same time his mind had been racing with so many thoughts that he was surprised he didn't keep waking up at night-though he might have and just forgotten. He could see the light filtering into the room behind closed lids, and slowly realized that he was laying on a comfortable bed. He lay there listening to the chirping of the birds and the faint sound of a car now and then.

And then he heard a sneeze.

Mathias suddenly remembered the night before and how he had found Elizaveta. He slowly cracked his eyes open, letting them adjust to the light, and realized he was in fact not in his own bedroom but the guestroom. _That sneeze..._ The Dane had to admit it was adorable, and he knew very well who it belonged to. He jolted up then, blinking and rubbing his eyes and sleepily uttering a "_prosit_" out of reflex. The Viking then slowly turned his attention to the Hungarian, who was already standing up and staring at him. A small smile couldn't help but appear at his lips. "Good morning...or...er..afternoon." His eyes landed on the clock, which read 1:28 PM. _I don't even remember what time I went to bed last night..._

* * *

The Hungarian blushed lightly, once again caught staring at Mathias and admiring the view. Her heart skipped a beat, though did so with joy. "Good afternoon." Her voice, too, sounded calm but quite merry while saying those two words. For some reason, she never felt this happy in a long time just by being with someone, despite her issues. Mathias' voice seemed to grab her again, causing her to want more from him than just his presence. In an effort to resist herself, Elizaveta turned to see the time for herself, lowering her hand. _...Oh wow._ "It looks like we slept in for a long time."

But then she couldn't help it - her gaze fell back upon Mathias and her lust returned. That one day of withdrawal seemed to have nearly killed her internally, but this man seemed to have resurrected her. Elizaveta whizzed around, again trying her best to keep away from the Dane. _Wait, he knows my other side. He probably doesn't like how formal I'm acting right now, but...i-it can't be helped, I'm not used to him._ Shaking off those thoughts, she spoke while facing away from Mathias. "Do you mind if I shower here? I haven't been able to for a while."

* * *

Mathias nodded. "It seems like we did." He was relieved to hear her tone of voice, not sure of how the Hungarian would be feeling at the moment. He caught himself looking at the Hungarian for a bit too long-but he couldn't help it. Even after a rough day and then just waking up, she mesmerized him, the natural glow she gave off warm. The Dane noticed her subtle movements away from him-_she's being formal again._ He had to force himself to look away before the lust began to build up. He yawned and stretched, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and stood up.

"Sure." He realized he was in a similar predicament to the Hungarian, and with the mention of a shower his body seemed to want to propel him into one right away. "Though..." His eyes lingered back to Elizaveta, as if naturally drawn to her, and glanced her up and down. "I'm not sure what you want to do about clothes."

* * *

"Hm? Oh, don't worry about it," Elizaveta insisted, now finding it more difficult to stop herself from turning around and keep her eyes off of Mathias. Again, she was futile and had to make eye contact with the Dane again. His voice was simply too _luring_. The Hungarian smiled, reassuring that she was okay with wearing the same clothes. _Hopefully that's convincing enough._ She _would_ have asked for some other set of clothes, as she felt dirty enough reusing her dress, but Elizaveta didn't want to burden him.

* * *

Mathias shook his head. "Having a shower is pointless if you're just going to get back into that." He laughed, his eyes again inspecting what she was wearing. It was crushed and stained and was in dire need of washing. "No, I'll find something." Mathis realized if he did have any girls' clothing laying around, it was probably ancient. "You can go ahead though, if you want. The bathroom is right through that door-there should already be a towel and soaps and shampoos and all of that stuff in there." The Dane always kept the guestroom and guest bathroom equipped with whatever necessities, since he had had surprise visitors before.

* * *

Elizaveta sighed. _There he goes again._ "Stubborn," the woman mumbled, though with a small smirk. She lifted her voice up to a normal volume. "Alright then. Thank you, Mathias." Her eyes couldn't leave Mathias for a few seconds until she literally had to smack herself (though discretely) to get herself into the shower in the room.

The Hungarian shut the door quietly but quickly. She heaved another sigh out. _If I see that man one more time, I may as well just faint._ Elizaveta figured that Mathias could just set her new clothes outside (or she could always put back on her old pair), so she went ahead and locked the door. Scanning the bathroom just to double check that she had all the necessary toiletry, Elizaveta discarded her clothes onto the bathroom and carefully turned on the shower knob, waiting for the hot water to run through.

* * *

"No problem." Mathias waited till Elizaveta entered the bathroom, sighing after she closed the door. He was wondering if he was the only one of the two who felt that they had been staring at each other for a while before she went in. _I'm just becoming delusional._ Mathias finally snapped back into reality and forced himself to move, passing my the bathroom door as he heard the shower turn on. He had to try his best not to let his mind wander.

He quickly left the room and looked around. _No way am I going to find some ancient clothes. That would be terrible._ The Dane instead made way to his room, throwing open the closet door. He groaned as he remembered that he needed to do some laundry. _Way to keep on top of things._ He surfed through the clean clothes he had and found several shorts. _She's just going to have to deal with this...it's temporary anyway. I'll just stick her dress in the wash._ He picked out two shirts-one white, the other a rusty shade of orange, deeming them long enough that the Hungarian could wear them as dresses. Deciding he'd let her pick which one she wanted, he walked back to the bathroom.

"Eli." He knocked on the door. "Sorry-this is all I could find. I'm leaving it here by the door. I'll be in the shower too." He left the shirts neatly folded by the door, and after standing a moment, his eyes lingering on the door, he walked back out of the room into his own. He grabbed some clothes and quickly made his way into his own bathroom, stripping off his clothing and jumping into the shower. He stiffened at the freezing cold water that first came out, but his body and muscles soon relaxed when the water became warm. He sighed, leaning against the shower wall, letting the steam soothe him. _Look what you've done..._

* * *

Once the temperature was at about her desired temperature, Elizaveta stepped in, making sure that she wouldn't trip by laying her hand on the wall. She enjoyed the steaming water drumming against her scalp and streaming down her waist-length hair - it felt especially satisfying since she hadn't showered in two days. Her eyes closed as a smile came upon her face as she was temporarily liberated of any thoughts, whether they were good or bad.

Elizaveta went through the typical washing cycles with the shampoo and conditioner (she was surprised to see that in the shower - generally men wouldn't supply that in their homes) and after what seemed like a good half an hour, the Hungarian shut off the shower and ringed her hair several times to rid of the water residing in her hair. Her hand pawed around for a towel, and successfully finding one without having to step anywhere, she dried her body thoughtlessly. She happened to stare at the fogged mirror for a while, observing the woman before her eyes. Her eyes narrowed slightly. _You have much to settle,_ she told her in her head.

Setting the towel neatly aside, Elizaveta cautiously unlocked the door and left it ajar enough so that she could pop her hand out and snatch any articles of clothing the Dane left her - she was able to grasp the two shirts Mathias had put down. _Huh, did he stop by? I didn't hear anything._ She was oblivious that he did say something to her, but was simply too distracted with the water running against her skin.

Closing the door again, she let the two shirts unfold by themselves as she held one in each hand at the collars. They were of a decent length, long enough to wear just like a dress, but what bothered Elizaveta were the color choices. _White and orange._ Her eyes focused on the article her left hand held. _...White._ A frown appeared on her face. Being one of the only female nations in Europe and often getting hit on, the Hungarian knew better. _I swear he's setting me up._ The woman tossed the white shirt onto the door handle as she slipped through the rusty orange colored polo.

As she expected, the shirt draped down to her knees and gave much room for her body to breathe. Elizaveta noticed that the sleeves were too long and too wide in diameter for her own arms; even after rolling them up, they wobbled around like bells around her upper arm. _I guess it's better than wearing my dress._

Finally, after about another five minutes, Elizaveta exited the bathroom with her dress and Mathias' (refolded) white shirt, also seeing steam escape through the crack of the door opening. Her eyes wandered around the room. _No Mathias._ For some reason she didn't know herself, the Hungarian felt rather relieved. She decided to sit down on the guest room's bed, occupying herself with the various items sitting around while waiting for Mathias to return.

* * *

Mathias stood under the running water for what seemed a fairly long amount of time, just letting himself relax. It was nice not to think of anything and just enjoy the private time to himself. He suddenly jerked away from the wall and opened his eyes. _Did I fall asleep standing up?_ Shaking his head, he proceeded with his shower, keeping his mind blank as he went through with the usually daily routine. Mathias allowed his body to enjoy some cold water before turning the water off, his body feeling refreshed.

He shook out any loose water droplets from his hair before vigorously using a towel to dry himself up. He slipped into a thin white-tinted-blue shirt and gray denim jeans. It wasn't until he opened the door of his bathroom and was hit with the cool temperature of the bedroom that he truly felt relieved. Taking a deep breath, he tossed his used clothing into the laundry basket and made his way to the guestroom.

Mathias saw the Hungarian sitting on the bed, keeping herself busy, in the rusty orange shirt. He couldn't help but smile at her choice (though at the same felt just a tiny bit dissapointed she hadn't chosen the white one). _She probably thought I gave it to her on purpose._ The Dane watched her from the doorway for a few minutes, simply enjoying the sight of the Hungarian, who looked as dazzling as ever. He finally coughed and entered the room. "Hope you enjoyed your shower." He laughed. "Are you hungry?" His eyes went to the clock again. It was nearly three in the afternoon. _Waking up late always throws everything off..._

* * *

A cough had tore her attention away from a lamp sitting on a nearby desk. Her head snapped to her right to catch Mathias in clothes that distracted her for longer than they should have. _He looks...no, nevermind._ She nodded, though pouted on the inside at his laugh and threw the white shirt across the room at his face to show that she had considered the other direction in which his words could be taken. A smirk crept across her face momentarily before replying with a relatively normal expression, "Yes, I am."

She then recalled her eating routines these past two days - all she had eaten was one of Mathias' cuisines two nights ago (with the addition of a few bottles of wine), and yesterday was just ice cream. Somehow, Elizaveta didn't become hungry until he questioned her about it. Her hand gave her stomach one pat. "Though, I feel bad for not doing anything in return for you taking care of me." Elizaveta was glad, too, that Mathias didn't touch upon the topic of Roderich...just yet, she guessed.

* * *

"Hey!" The shirt the Hungarian had thrown at him clung to Mathias' face. He swiped it off, snickering, and threw it to the side, not really caring about it. He looked at Elizaveta again, noticing how the sleeves seemed big on her. _Cute._ The Dane smirked before leaning against the wall, shaking his head. "You don't need to feel bad. I honestly don't understand you sometimes." He laughed again, teasing Elizaveta. "Always apologizing, always feeling like you're a burden-lighten up!" He realized now that he hadn't eaten too much the last couple of days, though he had a good helping of food at Tino's home.

"In the mood for anything in particular? I may just order pizza." He pushed himself off the wall, eyes again attracted straight to the Hungarian. "It's up to you."

* * *

"I can't help it," Elizaveta replied. Perhaps she was like this so much because she had been conditioned to act this way whenever she was at Roderich's home - her manners were refined every visit to his house that it became instinctive to be polite everywhere else. _You see,_ the voice far down the tunnel said, _that's why you picked Roderich._

_Get lost,_ the Hungarian scowled back. She hated these internal arguments she had with herself nowadays.

She stood up, fixing the shirt so that it dangled down her body freely, and returned Mathias' look, leaving yet another gap of silence before she replied. "Oh, um, no. I haven't had much food, so I'm happy with anything; pizza is fine." Elizaveta listened for the voice again, but was glad that it decided to shut up. The Hun began walking to the door, prepared to eat; however, as she got closer to the Dane, her mood seemed to shift the slightest bit from one that was innocent to something dark.

* * *

"I mean it's good to apologize when needed and be modest-but you go overboard sometimes." Mathias laughed again. He knew it was because of her time with Roderich. He mentally scowled at the thought of the Austrian. _Manners are good and all, but it shouldn't be suffocating._ He shrugged. "Eh, maybe it's just because I'm too laid-back." It was true too-he believed in living a relaxed, calm and carefree life. What was the point, especially when they were nations and would hopefully be existing for eternity anyway, to keep acting like a total stranger to others?

The Dane nodded at her reply. "Pizza it is, then." Yet he felt glued to his spot as the Hungarian approached the door, getting closer to him, other thoughts quickly filtering in. He tried to ignore them, though it took a while before he was able to speak again. "I, uh...I'll just go ahead and order some, yeah. What type?" Mathias mentally kicked himself for having his sentence come out as it did.

* * *

Elizaveta wildly shook her head to remove the ominous mood that had filled her just now, possibly causing some water to spray around her. _I'm getting tempted to turn into my Hun side, aren't I? But Mathias didn't have any sense of Viking in him just now..._ Realizing that her hair was still rather damp, Elizaveta tied it back into a single yet long ponytail to prevent Mathias' shirt from getting too wet.

"I'll be fine with any sort of pizza, Mathias. You choose," Elizaveta answered. _I can't believe how many times he asks me if I want anything._ She truly had no preference for anything right now - food is food after all, and breaking off her bad eating habits in any way would suffice.

The Hungarian wandered around the floor until she discovered his home's dining room; it was rather pleasing to the eye to see. _This_ is _pretty modern._ Even more evidence of Mathias' love for his Nordic family was lying around; perhaps a few toys decorating the room here and there, even more photos, and some antiques. It somewhat ached her heart to see how close the Dane was to these nations.

* * *

Mathias watched the Hungarian, wondering why she was shaking her head so much (though he didn't mind seeing her throw her damp hair around). His eyes lingered on her for longer than he wanted them to as she tied up her hair, shoving any feelings of lust back to the front of his mind. He finally managed to stop staring at Elizaveta and looked away, slightly embarrassed.

"Okay, if you say so." Mathias honestly didn't feel like talking on the phone at the time. He lazily messed around with his phone, ordered some pizza, and went out to join the Hungarian in the dining room. "Should be here in a few minutes."

The Dane noticed her observing the area, and wondered what was on her mind. He let himself plop onto one of the chairs, leaning back. Noticing that the Hungarian's eyes seemed to linger on certain furniture and pictures, he smiled. "I told you my home was modern-got lovely designers, thankfully. You should see my city home in Copenhagen." As his eyes moved to the pictures of the Nordics, he was reminded of the night before once again. He let out a light sigh. _It's like a curse._

* * *

The Hungarian joined the Dane at the table, her eyes helplessly locked onto him. _Forget trying to stop myself from staring at him. I can't resist anymore._ Her leg twitched to cross over her other one, but realized that it wasn't wise to do such a thing in just a long shirt; she pressed together her thighs instead. "I like it - your designers have done well," Elizaveta said, giving feedback. "It's much different than what you see in Budapest."

Elizaveta perked up in interest. "City home in Copenhagen? We could head there after eating, since I have nothing to do." _Again._ She wasn't too happy with the thought of staying back at her house. The Hungarian knew that she would end up wondering about Roderich, which was the last thing she wanted to think of at the moment. Plus, touring around Mathias' place sounded like fun. _If his interior house is like this, then imagine Copenhagen...though, I really don't want to go out there in_ this. _I should buy some clothes for myself while I'm there._ "I'd like to shop there for a bit as well," Elizaveta added.

* * *

Mathias smiled. "Thanks-I'm quite proud of them. And I don't remember my last trip to Budapest too well-it would be nice to go again, one day." The Dane also found himself hopelessly staring at the Hungarian, his eyes always drawing him back even if he only looked off to the side. _I have to admit...she looks pretty hot in that._ Even when she had been standing up earlier he could help but check out her legs, which for the majority were showing.

Mathias thoughts then seemed to kick him and he thought of something else-how strange the situation they were in was right now. After yesterday's drama, Elizaveta was acting like nothing had happened. It looked like she didn't want to leave. _...Did she see Roderich?_ He was tempted to ask what the Hungarian had done the day before and why he had found her in the bed of flowers, but decided to refrain. _Why ruin a good moment?_

He laughed softly. "Sure-the city is where all the fun is at." He glanced down her body. "And shop all you want. Copenhagen's known as one of the most fashionable cities in all of Scandinavia." Mathias laughed again. "You can stick your dress in the wash if you'd like."

* * *

Elizaveta was too busy staring at Mathias as he spoke to notice that he, too, was observing her. Somehow, Mathias laugh had stuck out particularly in her brain; a chill vibrated beneath her skin with pleasure. It was so...happy, an emotion that her life seemed to lack so often. _If I'm doing that...I think I'm on the verge of obsession._ She chuckled in response to the Dane's words. "Fun and fashionable...if you say so."

The Hungarian got to her feet, not letting Mathias leave her sight. She bundled up her dress into a ball in her hands. "I'll put it in the wash while the pizza is coming." She took a few steps off, but then realized that she didn't even know where it was. After a few seconds of silence, Elizaveta questioned, "Where is it?"

* * *

Mathias had been staring at the Hungarian as she got up to a point where it took him a few seconds to respond to her question. He laughed again and quickly got up, snatching the balled up dress from her hands. "Here, let me do it." Before she could protest, he walked into the hall and stopped at the end of it. An open door revealed the laundry room. He quickly set up the machine to use the least amount of water possible (he didn't want to waste a load on a single article of clothing) and threw in the dress and detergent, returning to the dining room in less than two minutes.

* * *

Elizaveta frowned as her dress disappeared from her hand. "Huh? Hey wait, Mathias-" She cut herself off abruptly, knowing that she would fail to convince him. Sighing, Elizaveta leaned against a nearby wall, wearing a pouting face as she waited for the Dane to return. _Geez, what a stubborn ass he is. If I lived with him, then he'd drive me insane._ Suddenly, her thoughts led her to other ones, thoughts that necessarily wouldn't think of. An equation was formed in her head: _Living with Mathias = Like being married to him._

_Oh, no no no no no, Elizaveta. You're going way too far with that. No, stop, stop._ The Hungarian glanced around the corner to check if Mathias was still absent, and confirming that he was still away, she quickly slapped herself across the cheek. Elizaveta stood still for a moment, seeing if her unwanted thoughts were banished from her mind. _Okay, good._

Trying to excuse herself from her strange actions, the Hungarian didn't wait for too long for Mathias to get back to her (which was a nice character quality to have as a man..._Wait Elizaveta, you're going there again_). Her arms crossed, she gave the man a frown. Her leg fidgeted noticeably as she muttered inappreciatively and sarcastically, "Thanks, Mathias. I feel quite useful now."

* * *

Mathias chuckled, noticing her fidgeting leg. _Goddamit...girls and that darn face they can make._ He walked up to her, smirking. "I figured it would be quicker and easier if I just did it than tell you where it was, then show you where it was, and then tell you how to work the particular model, and so on." He shook his head. "Relax. You-"

The Dane was cut off by the ring of the doorbell. He flashed the Hungarian a grin before quickly running to the door to get the pizza. He gave the deliveryboy a considerable tip and then entered the dining room once again with a box of pizza, it's delicious scent filling the room instantly. He set it down on table and opened the box, grabbing two plates. "Dig in."

* * *

Elizaveta kept her frown on her face throughout Mathias' explanation; she was not pleased or impressed. His smirk didn't help either. _I should had just looked for it myself; plus, I'm not that stupid. I can work with machines._ The Hungarian was glad that the doorbell chime interrupted him and decided to settle back down at the table, avoiding the sight of the delivery boy.

She heard the front door close and a very faint yet growing smell of pizza traveled through her nostrils; her nose twitched, her mouth hungry for food. When Mathias reappeared with their lunch, the box's lid flew open and the aroma of the pizza flooded her in such a way that she automatically reached out to take a slice for herself while retrieving a plate. Involuntarily, the Hungarian licked her lips and greedily ate away, not paying too much attention to her manners.

* * *

Mathias watched the Hungarian, throughly amused. _She really was hungry._ Then the Dane realized he was craving for some food as well, and casually grabbed a slice to chow down on. He found that, once again, his eyes could not leave Elizaveta, as hard as he tried. He wanted to hit himself-_snap out of it!_ To distract himself, he got up and poured two glasses of cola for them, relieved that at least for that duration of time he wasn't glued to the Hun. Returning to the table, Mathias handed Elizaveta the glass, and laughed.

"You have pizza sauce on your face."

* * *

Elizaveta, just about to gobble up the crust, froze in the middle of her bite and her eyes darted over to Mathias, with not only a tint of wonder in her irises but also admiration of the man in front of her. She flushed. "A-Ah, thank you." Embarrassed, the Hun quickly stretched out her hand to seize a piece of napkin and wiped her lips from the tomato sauce collected around them. She then placed the now stained paper back on the table and grabbed one of the glasses of cola, drinking at a moderate pace while searching for a topic to discuss. Nothing but the events that occurred these past few days adhered to her thoughts, and sighed, putting down her cup.

"I'm sorry about yesterday, Mathias. I hope you weren't offended or anything." She fixed her sight on the bread crust in her hand. Elizaveta was highly aware that Mathias disliked her apologies, but gave one anyways. "I just..." Her words trailed off, not sure how to explain herself.

* * *

Mathias smiled at the Hun's blush. "No problem." He himself sat back down and continued to eat, his eyes still locked on the Hungarian. At Elizaveta's apology, he froze. Putting down what remained of his pizza slice, he cleaned off his hands with a napkin, gaze concentrating on his hands. _So she initiates it._ His eyes went back to the Hungarian, though she had averted her gaze. After realizing he had been silent for a bit too long, he shook his head. "I wasn't offended." He replied softly. Mathias leaned across the table, placing a hand under the Hungarian's chin, gently making her look at him again. "Don't worry about it. I understand."

* * *

As Mathias rested his hand on her head, Elizaveta couldn't resist to stare back into the Dane's heartwarming blue eyes. His touch stimulated her, causing her heart to beat faster; she wanted to come closer to Mathias and feel his warmth, his emotions, his _everything_ vibrate off of him. However, there was a sense of doubt looming in her head - _does he really have the same feelings as I do towards him?_ Thinking about _that_ night, she would guess so. But maybe, just maybe, that wasn't real. Elizaveta knew that her own relationship with Roderich was the thing that made her dubious, but this was something reasonable to worry over.

At the same time, her ears detected Mathias' delicate voice and words. She noticed that her eyes glazed over with a thin layer of water; the Hungarian had a sudden urge to tell Mathias everything about Roderich and the events that occurred last night, about Roderich's reaction to her confession. Her heart seemed to contract at that, but she managed to fight back, realizing that she was too tired of crying and being depressed so often. Her right hand, fingers rubbing against her palm to make sure there wasn't any oil, moved up to lightly but lovingly grasp Mathias' hand and set it onto her cheek as she lifted a smile onto her face, all while keeping eye contact with Mathias. "Thank you," the woman said simply, aware that any more words that came out could make her mouth slip and spill.

* * *

Mathias stared into the Hungarian's eyes, seeing the usual warmth but underneath it..._she looks sad._ He wondered what was on her mind, and his thoughts went to Roderich. _Of course._ He wanted to do nothing more in that moment then hold Elizaveta tight against him, make her forget anything else and only think about him, about the two of them together. The Dane felt a surge of warmth when the Hungarian touched his hand. He was lost staring into her eyes, her "thank you" taking a while to process. Realizing that he had probably been staring at her for a while, a light blush swept over his cheeks in embarresment. "N-no problem." He stuttered.

Mathias however couldn't stop thinking about the Hun, and before thinking he leaned over the table a bit more and placed a light kiss upon her lips.

* * *

Her head cocked to the side a centimeter as she discovered that Mathias had left silence at the table for a while. Elizaveta, of course, didn't mind - she decided to continue appreciating the perfect view she had of Mathias' face, noting how his hairstyle fit him well; how his chin was well framed and narrow; and how his eyes, though currently gentle, could turn into that of a Viking's in a matter of seconds. His blush surprised her while she observed him, though made her heart spark in delight. It was such a rare sight - only if she could take out her camera without him knowing and steal a picture of him like that...his stuttering, however, she wanted to _record. H-He's so cute when he does that,_ the Hungarian thought, her heart almost melting.

Elizaveta heard the table creak a bit and, before she could absorb what was happening, she found herself in a kiss with Mathias. Her brain was suddenly filled with a mix of emotions: the Hungarian didn't want this, yet her heart told her that this was the man she wanted to live her life with. Her Hun side seemed to demand to be released again, but then she remembered how they were eating pizza just now and was worrying over how her lips must have been oily even after she wiped them, which locked away her dangerous personality. Her mind was so chaotic that Elizaveta ended up sitting still in her chair, not moving at all as she gave a blank, rather shocked stare.

After yet another pause, a blush appeared on her cheeks again; her free hand raised up to her face instinctively and hovered in front of the bottom half of her face, attempting to shield the pink skin from Mathias' sight (even if she knew it wouldn't work too well). Her right hand involuntarily tightened her grip on the Dane's as well. "M-Mathias," Elizaveta's own mouth stumbled, also embarrassed.

* * *

Mathias stared at the Hungarian for a while, her blush (which he could see even with her attempt to hide it) stirring. something in his heart. Feeling her tightened grip, he suddenly snapped out of his daze. Realizing what he had done, he blinked, then averted his eyes, instead concentrating on the flower nested in her hair. "S-sorry, I didn't..." He was fumbling with his words as another light blush appeared on his face. _What's wrong with me?_ The Dane honestly couldn't understand any of his thoughts or emotions at the moment. What was it about this girl in front of him that caused him to act so strange? She had been still when he kissed her, not expecting him to do such a thing, and neither was he. He slowly brought his gaze back to lock with Elizaveta's eyes, but remained silent. He just didn't know what to do.

* * *

Elizaveta managed to slowly shake her head, lowering the hand that protected her face, and picked up the bread crust she didn't realize she had dropped into her lap. Her other hand removed Mathias' fingers from her possession and retreated back into a lady-like position, resting on her upper leg. As strange as it sounded, the Hungarian assured him, "No, it's alright. Please, continue eating. I don't want you starving in Copenhagen." A smile popped up onto her face; her friendly but mature personality seemed to have taken over the somewhat playful girl she was just a moment ago. Elizaveta was intentionally trying to pretend that nothing had happened just now, in an attempt to ignore the awkward moment. However, she had an urge to return his displays of affection; once again, he was becoming irresistible.

_No - you're doing well, Elizaveta. Just keep thinking that he's just another nation who decided to invite you over again for lunch,_ she told herself, even if the words directed toward herself never helped her all that much.

* * *

Mathias quickly retracted his hand back, again averting his gaze, looking down at his plate. _Damn, way to go to make things awkward._ Shaking the thought out of his head, he returned the Hungarian's smile. "Right." Then he laughed, in a sarcastic way. "And glad to know you care." He himself was trying to forget what had just happened. Returning to his normal attitude seemed the best way to do so. "You eat up as well, especially if you haven't been eating properly."

With that, Mathias finished off another slice of pizza and drank down the rest of his cola. He brought the glass and plate to the sink to wash off and washed his hands. Looking back over to Elizaveta-_if I'm like this now things will probably just get worse in Copenhagen_-and grinned. "Are you planning to get back into your dress, then?"

* * *

Elizaveta suddenly frowned, her sarcastic and fun side returning, but then nodded with a small smile. "Right." _Looks like he's back to his usual self._ Even after about two days without proper eating routines, the Hungarian wasn't in the mood to eat too much. _It must be because of my drama..._ Sighing quietly, she decided to ingest the bread crust, take up another slice of pizza, and drink the rest of her beverage, but no more than that. Elizaveta stood up to clean up after herself, but turned to respond to Mathias.

"Oh, so now you tell me I should get back into my dress." A smirk decorated her face as Elizaveta walked into the kitchen and stood beside the Dane, her plate and cup with her. Her arms stretched out past Mathias to wash them before he could rip them out of her hands and clean the plate and cup himself. "I should, though. I don't think it's appropriate to walk around in this."

* * *

Mathias jestingly glared and frowned at the Hungarian's actions. "How many times have I told you not to worry about that stuff!" He then laughed and leaned against the counter, arms crossed. Smirking at the Hun (with a quick glance up and down her body once more), he responded to her remark. "Hey, _I_ don't mind if you don't want to-I was just wondering." He quickly walked out of the kitchen back to the dining room before Elizaveta could attempt to hit him. "But if you _want_ to, then I better go stick it in the dryer." Once again he ran to the laundry room before the Hungarian could try and stop him, taking care of her dress before returning. "Though you still don't _have_ to wear it, y'know." He laughed again, knowing well that the Hun would get frustrated with him not only for his actions but remarks. _But she's so cute when she gets angry while still being her normal self..._ Mathias mentally scowled. _Ugh, stop thinking like that!_

* * *

Elizaveta simply frowned, not necessarily returning a look or answering to anything he said. She was starting to become convinced that he was doing these things just to flatter her - like those kinds of boys who act nice only around the girls they like, but then turn mean or rude around his friends. However, the Hungarian knew better than to just stick to that opinion. _I'm sure he's far better than that._

After setting aside the now clean plate, she found herself almost dropping the cup into the sink as Mathias strolled off to toss her dress into the dryer, her mouth gaping open a bit. _I swear. He's doing this on purpose. He's going to kill me someday._ Her hands continued to rub the rim of the cup until the Dane reappeared. "No, I'm wearing it." At the spur of the moment, Elizaveta decided to slap her left hand through the running water at a certain angle, causing several drops of the cold liquid to splash onto Mathias and to tell him that she currently wasn't too happy with him.

* * *

Mathias flinched away as the water hit him. "Hey!" He blinked as he looked down at where the water had hit him. A splotch of water soaked through the shirt at a portion of his chest. Mathias looked back up at the Hungarian, laughing. "Okay-no need to get feisty." _She is awfully cute w-no! Stop!_ The Dane stepped away from the sink to avoid getting splashed again, instead retreating to the dining table. "Well, I will warn you-around this time of year it's still pretty chilly here, Copenhagen is no exception." He looked out the window for a few seconds, as if assessing the weather himself. Then, a thought suddenly struck him. "Oh...do you know how to ride a bicycle?"

* * *

Elizaveta displayed a mischievous smirk at Mathias, one wider than usual. _I need to stop; I'm enjoying this too much._ Once done rinsing the cup, she placed it aside as well and turned off the sink, drying her hands on Mathias' shirt. Elizaveta froze in the middle of doing so, coming upon a realization. _This...isn't mine._ Her eyes sunk down to view her hands that had smothered Mathias' clothing with water. _...Oh well._ Before Mathias could catch her, Elizaveta took an alternative method to dry her hands by flicking her hands in the air and eventually joined Mathias at the table.

"I don't mind the cold too much," Elizaveta told him. Then she eyed him cautiously. "And I know how to ride a bicycle, it's just that...I'm not doing that in a dress." Her green eyes then observed the weather, as if to confirm the man's words. _It does look a little chilly out there._

* * *

Mathias watched Elizaveta as she joined him. He laughed at her comments. "Right, of course you don't mind." He then shook his head as he pointed out the window. "I mean, we'll take a car to Copenhagen...but I was just wondering because you don't actually see too many cars _in_ the city...a lot of people go around by bike. It's more eco-friendly, and healthier." He nodded, proud that his city was one that was looked up to around the world. "But I guess we'll mainly be walking anyway, so we won't need the bikes. But, on the off chance we do, we'll figure something out." Mathias then smirked at the Hungarian and continued in a whining voice, though obviously in a joking matter. "Women, always having to make life so damn difficult."

* * *

Elizaveta frowned yet again, and perhaps even snarled quietly. _I'll pretend I never heard that._ Little did she know that it built up her inner frustration with Mathias and men in general.

"I would prefer walking, actually, just to enjoy the view. Though, it'd be painful for you, wouldn't it? You've been to Copenhagen who knows how many times." Elizaveta tried to smile, but her lips seemed reluctant to. _Damn comment about women,_ she thought, considering that to be a possible reason for her struggling smile. His tone of voice especially stuck to her while thinking of that - it was so _irritating._ She managed to force one up in the end and seemed to unconsciously mumble, "Men, always having to be so immature." The Hungarian could faintly feel the Hun inside of her forming again.

* * *

Mathias shrugged. "Eh, I'm cool with it. I don't mind walking around-I actually love it there." The Dane observed the Hungarian at that point, sensing her irritation. He gave her an amused expression before letting out a light sigh, knowing that it was the comment about women that had struck her. "Eli, _chill_. I was kidding, okay? You need to stop getting so worked up all the time." He then laughed, remembering not to forget her mumble towards the end. "And I admit to that. We're immature brats that never grow out of our childhood. But hey, what's fun about life if you take it so seriously all the time? Seems troubling to me." Mathias knew it was his usual laid-back personality talking here. It was true-he's mature when he wants to be, and probably acted immature in the eyes of Elizaveta the rest of the time.

* * *

Elizaveta was tempted to say something to retort, but ended up at a loss of words. She was serious for most of the time, even during her younger years when she thought she was a man, and now she was even more lady-like and mature because of Roderich. _Roderich..._ Her heart sunk as her eyes dulled for a few seconds, then shook her head. _Don't think about him right now._ Mathias was right - so true that she realized that she never had the sense of true fun in her life. _Is that why I like Mathias so much?_ Her emotions seemed to rattle slightly. _Is that why I don't have feelings for Roderich anymore?_

Again, Elizaveta had to snap herself out of it. She was here to enjoy herself with Mathias if - or before - any hell broke lose. Finding herself silent for too long, the Hungarian decided to run her hand swiftly back and forth on Mathias' head in order to make up for a response, messing up his hair in the process. Quietly, Elizaveta sat down, helplessly pondering about Roderich while waiting for her dress.

* * *

"Hey hey, not the _hair_!" Mathias jokingly pouted as Elizaveta tousled his hair. His eyes had and were still watching her. _She's got something on her mind._ When she sat down, the Dane knew that she had lost herself again in her thoughts, and his own couldn't help but return to the Hungarian and the situation they were in with the evens the past couple of days. He left her to her pondering and walked back to the laundry room. Seeing that the dress had dried enough, he took it out and straightened it out before returning.

"Here, oh Maiden, is your battle gear." He gave an overly exaggerated bow and got done on one knee, holding up the dress much like a sword would be held when offered in peace agreements. Mathias couldn't help but chuckle at the end.

* * *

Elizaveta was too preoccupied with her thoughts to notice Mathias' temporary departure; her hand found her way to her chin for it to rest on and her brain suddenly felt heavy. _I hope he isn't planning to visit my house today. I wouldn't know how to explain myself properly if he found out that I wasn't home..._ When the light seemed to no longer penetrate her pupils, Elizaveta had to adjust her eyes to detect that Mathias had returned with her dress, presenting it to her in a manner that she seemed very familiar with. Her back straightened up quite noticeably as her eyes stared at Mathias disbelievingly. _Did he just..._ He was toying around, she observed - but she knew that Mathias had picked up her change in behavior and was trying to cheer her up. It wasn't until after his chuckle that the Hungarian responded while retrieving her dress, bending in towards Mathias and murmuring in a low but queenly voice:

"Thank you, _my lovely Viking_."

Without conscious control, the Hun planted a kiss on the man's forehead, then quickly rose to walk off and change into her dress. Her heart skipped a beat. _I don't know what I'm doing anymore, do I?_ Her hand clenched at her chest, wrinkling the shirt beneath it.

* * *

**_A/N:_**

_Ughhh, hate the cut off here. It took **xNeyu** forever to decide where to stop the chapter, because there wasn't any decent place to do so. So this chapter is a little longer than it should be. Yeah. :c_

_During this part of the RP, **Amerzt** had been out of town with limited internet access, so we progressed slowly, and it caused our writing to lose quality, because we forget what we type in previous RP posts and then we don't connect those posts with the new ones...that's probably more evident in this chapter. Sorry about that. _

_Anywho, this chapter serves more as relief to what happened in the previous one. So much drama~ THOUGH WE LOVE SEEING PEOPLES' REACTIONS TO IT, HEHE._


	16. Chapter 15

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 15**

* * *

Mathias smirked at Elizaveta's words. _She called me her lovely Viking again._ The words though brought back the memories of the day before, and the Viking had to do his best to shove all of the feelings and thoughts away. _She..._  
Before he could respond, however, Mathias felt her soft lips on his skin. He stiffened slightly, though a surge of warmth swept through his body. His eyes trailed after the Hungarian, and it took him a few moments to realize he was still down on one knee. Mathias quickly got up and looked down at his own clothes. Deeming them unfit, he went to his room to change.

Keeping on the gray jeans, he changed into a red graphic t-shirt (which clung to him, defining his muscles) and a black faux leather jacket, adorned with chains. He grabbed another jacket for Elizaveta-a plain black faux leather one-knowing that she would get cold. Then he wrapped a black and white plaid scarf around his neck and stuck a black beanie on his head.

Mathias gave a final check in the mirror before returning to the dining room. _It feels good to just be casual._

* * *

Once she reached the guest room, Elizaveta shut the door quietly and locked it, then sighed and leaned against the door. _I really wonder how Roderich is..._ Her thoughts paused. _Stop it. Enjoy yourself._ Her hands quickly fumbled around with her dress to let it hang loose in her grasp; she noticed that it felt slightly damp, since it wasn't in the dryer for a long enough time, but didn't bother about it. Elizaveta unrolled her bell sleeves and slipped off the shirt in a matter of seconds, but was patient with getting on her own clothing.

Realizing that Mathias probably waited for her for quite some time, the Hungarian walked quickly back into the dining room. Her eyes didn't recognize the man in front of her at first, but when she discovered that it was the Dane, she almost fainted. _H-He has a great sense of fashion._ Elizaveta couldn't help but to stare at Mathias' body for a minute before she decided to say as she nearly stumbled on her own words, "Are you ready?"

* * *

Mathias had been lost in his own thoughts, looking out the window, so he hadn't noticed Elizaveta at first. When she spoke, however, he snapped out of it and called his attention back to her. _She looks flustered..._ The Dane softly laughed, wondering if it had to do with how he was dressed. "Yes, I'm ready." He grabbed the jacket he got for the Hungarian and walked over to her, draping it over her shoulders. "You're going to get cold. Once we get there you can go around and buy something warm to your liking, but for now keep this." His eyes concentrated on fixing the jacket on her instead of looking at her face, not knowing what he would see in her eyes and wishing to keep things out of being awkward as much as possible.

"Well, if you're ready, we can head out then." He nodded towards the hallway that led to the garage as he spun around his car keys, waiting for the Hungarian's response.

* * *

Mathias' laugh struck her. _Ugh, caught again._ The Hungarian kept her gaze away from the Dane's, knowing well enough that she would daze off if she looked at him again. She watched his arms and hands circle around her, enjoying the heat that radiated from Mathias as they draped his jacket around her shoulders. Like his shirt, the coat was too long for her; Elizaveta didn't care to get her arms into the sleeves. "Thank you," she murmured, too preoccupied with Mathias' body to say much more.

Elizaveta eventually shook her head to return to reality. "Ah, right; let's go then." She stepped aside for Mathias to lead the way to the garage. _Jeez - dinner, wine, two nights at his house, clothes, lunch, and now driving to Copenhagen...I owe him so much. Whether or not he likes it, I'm going to repay him one way or another._

* * *

Mathias let his gaze linger on the Hungarian as he waited for her response. _Even with that jacket...she looks so damn adorable yet hot at the same time._ He shook his own head to get rid of the thoughts. _Dammit, Mathias! Get a hold of yourself._ Regaining his normal composure, he grinned at her and walked down the hallway, making sure she was following.

Entering the garage, he opened the main door, allowing the cool afternoon air to slowly fill up the area. A silver car sat in the garage, sleek and somewhat futuristic looking. He opened the door and motioned for the Hungarian to get in. "Your coach awaits you, highness." He laughed.

* * *

Elizaveta trailed behind him eagerly; she was excited to see Copenhagen, though which girl wouldn't be? It was the city that was the center of fashion in Mathias' area - the Dane's clothes told her enough about his taste in clothing, and was it _brillant. Prepare yourself, Mathias. You're going to be my doll throughout this,_ she thought, snickering on the inside.

Before heading out to the garage, the Hungarian lingered around the home for a bit longer to hunt down her boots and popped them on. She then returned to the garage to feast her eyes upon Mathias' striking, silver car; Elizaveta exhaled. "That's amazing," she breathed, though couldn't help but to think that Mathias could be too...showy and boastful sometimes.

Elizaveta rolled her eyes at Mathias as he acted as her chauffeur. She approached the car as she muttered, "You should really stop treating me this way, Mathias. You'll drive me insane." Rather hesitant to even touch the car, her eyes inspected the car from head to tail before carefully bending in to settle down in the seat, shifting here and there to adjust herself. _Comfy,_ the Hun commented pleasantly, buckling herself.

* * *

Mathias grinned at Elizaveta's remark. "Why thank you. I am in love with this car." He smoothed a hand over the hood, looking at it admiringly. If there was one stereotype about guys that fit Mathias, it was this one-he loved his car. He leaned against the door, resting his chin on his arms as he laughed, looking at Elizaveta. "Well then, looks like you're going to have to choose insanity." He closed the door for the Hungarian and walked to the other side, jumping in and quickly adjusting himself and the mirrors before revving it up. "I'm warning you," he smirked. "This baby goes fast. _Real_ fast." Placing his two hands on the steering wheel, he made his way out of the garage, making sure the door closed as they hit the street.

He made the engine roar once, letting the smooth vibrations carry throughout the car. "I hope you don't mind techno." He hit a couple of keys and the car again began to vibrate gently to the beats of house music. "Ready?"

* * *

_Loves his car, huh? Her mind wandered for a moment from Mathias' words. Man and machine. Man x machine. What kind of ba - okay, why the hell am I thinking of this?_ Shaking her head to snap out of it and to prevent herself from thinking any further, Elizaveta focused on her surroundings again and watched the Dane hop into the driver's seat.

Her mouth gaped open slightly, again pausing to think as he backed out the car from the garage._F-Fast?_ Sure, she was used to the speed while riding on horses, but this was technology, and technology beats anything old fashioned any day. The Hungarian's hands instinctively and tightly gripped the seat under her, her nails digging into the leather, as she stared at Mathias incredibly. Her voice was tinted with worry and fear, ignoring the man's question about her music preference. "W-Wait, you - are you kidding me?" _I'll die from a heart attack if he decides to drive at lightning speed._

* * *

Mathias was amused with Elizaveta's reaction. "I won't go fast if you don't want me to." He chuckled. "Cute to see you scared, though." He slowly accelerated until he reached a slightly fast but not unreasonable speed. Out of reflex he slightly bobbed his head up and down and tapped his fingers to the beats of the music.

The Dane at one point looked out of the corner of his eye at the Hungarian. A smirk crept onto his face, and as they turned onto an empty street, he accelerated to a high speed. The car smoothly transitioned and teared down the street. As they turned onto the next street, he slowed it down back to their previous speed. _She is going to kill me._

* * *

Elizaveta frowned at Mathias for what he said - she wondered how such a childish man became such a successful nation. She also assumed that his personality was what upset his Nordic brothers all the time. _...But he's so happy and carefree. I guess that's what makes him so lovable._ Her tense body gradually relaxed, her shoulders slumped, and her fingers eased their pressure on the chair. The Hungarian sighed out of relief, seeing as Mathias decided to follow the speed limit, and closed her eyes to listen to the music vibrating into her ears. _It's been a while since I've listened to music,_ she thought to kill time. _For some reason, the techno isn't soothing me as much as music generally does..._

Then Elizaveta stiffened as she heard the hum of the engine crescendo dangerously; her eyes popped open to glance at the car's dashboard. The red tick was smoothly hovering past 80 kilometers, 100 kilometers, 120 kilometers - the Hungarian literally jumped in her seat and shrieked loudly as her eyes locked on the street in front of her. "Mathias, God _damn_ you - _slow the hell down!_" She was on the edge of her seat then, but as the vehicle decelerated, Elizaveta fell back against her chair harshly, now slumping. The nerve-wrecked nation shifted around to remove the jacket around her shoulders and threw it at the Dane's head, though watched her toss to make sure it didn't cover his eyes.

"You're never driving me _anywhere_ ever again."

* * *

Mathias burst into laughter, though let out a small "hey!" when the jacket hit his head. Taking the jacket off of his head, he tossed it back at the Hungarian, snickering. "Awww, did lil' miss Hun-ny Bun get scared?" He couldn't help but burst into laughter once more. _I am dead. So dead._ Knowing the Hungarian's attitude towards things, he shook his head.

"Eli, you know I'm just messing with you. Calm down! I've done this so many times before." He then raised his hands as they stopped a traffic signal, shaking his head again. "I swear, I won't do that again. I just had to do it once." The Dane hoped that the Hungarian would lighten up a bit and forgive him for his mischievous trick. _I just can't help it._

* * *

_Oh, he is_ so _going to get it once we get to Copenhagen._ Depending on what was...available to her there, maybe she could get her vengeance. No - she _will_ get her revenge. Elizaveta sat up, pondering for a moment before shooting a (somewhat) joking Hun glare at the Viking. "Shut up," she muttered, wearing a pout on her face. "You doing this however many times doesn't necessarily mean that you can get out of danger."

Elizaveta crossed her arms, now glaring at the windshield. "Yeah, _I won't do that again_ my ass." Her voice went strangely masculine while reiterating Mathias' words. She knew that if she was able to get her voice that deep, then she had way too much practice as a kid...or she was simply trying too hard to 'eventually become a boy'. "Keep your hands on the wheel, too. Do I have to be your mother?"

* * *

_Goddammit...she's so damn cute when she does that pout._ Mathias snickered again at the Hungarian's response. He firmly gripped the wheel again as they drove, glancing over to her. "There-are you happy now, _mother_?" He laughed again. They passed an area with rows of wind turbines. The tall, sleek, white mechanisms stood out amongst the flat landscape, and the blades smoothly rotated as the wind blew at a moderate speed. "Do you have any of these?" The Dane asked out of curiosity, gesturing to the wind turbines.

He perked up as he could say Copenhagen in the distance. It was not a city of skyscrapers and other tall building littered across the horizon, but it was still a big city. "Almost there."

* * *

"Yes," the Hungarian replied to play along, though with sarcasm. "I'm very proud to have a son who can drive _safely_ and _obey_ driving laws."

Her eyes narrowed to the window as the turbines came into view, distracted with the way they turned, as if the towering devices were mildly hypnotizing. She seemed to have forgotten about the speeding incident they went through just now. Elizaveta nodded, even if she knew that Mathias may have not sighted her movement. "Yes, and quite a few at that."

Her attention was drawn away from the turbines once Mathias announced that their destination was close. The Hungarian had to partially stand in the car in order to see a small, distant line of buildings down the road. Beyond those structures, she was also able to make out a body of water, which reminded her of the only lake she had, Lake Balaton, but far more vast. "Ah!" she exclaimed perkily and excitedly, a smile sweeping across her face.

* * *

Mathias smirked as the Hungarian replied. "Why thank you, _mother_." He snickered as they continued to approach the city. "So you're a fan of wind energy too? Cool." He stayed silent until they reached the inner proximities of the city, amused by the Hungarian's exclamation. After finding a parking garage to his liking, he entered the dim entrance. Once he parked, he turned off the engine and let the vibrations dim away. He quickly hopped out and opened the door for the Hungarian. "We have reached our destination, your highness." He softly chuckled again.

* * *

Again, Elizaveta rolled her eyes - as much as she wanted to punch him for the formalities, the Hungarian remained calm and silent. She was quite used to the titles because of Roderich, but whenever Mathias referred to her with such names, it was just irritating. He was teasing her, after all.

Once the car turned off, she slid out of it with a simple turn and a small jump, then wrapped Mathias' jacket around her shoulders and pulled off her hair band to liberate her voluminous brown hair. Her hands swiped her dress with quick strokes. "Thank you," Elizaveta said with a smirk on her face, now beginning to thank him just to annoy him. Her eyes wandered around the garage and stared outside the parking lot, where the light shone brightly, looking forward to adventuring in Copenhagen.

* * *

Mathias smirked, shutting the door behind the Hungarian. He caught his breath as she let her hair loose and had to avert his gaze in order to prevent any blushing or the sort. Composing himself, he took a couple of steps before turning back to Elizaveta. "Well, this is probably the most unattractive part of the city." He laughed, and then grabbed her by the wrist as he led her down the stairs so that they were on the street level. A cool breeze blew as the city unfolded before them. As Mathias had said, there were many bikers, and the scent of the sea lingered in the area. Besides buildings, there were interesting architectural structures, giving a very modern and contemporary vibe to the Danish capital.

"So, what do you want to do first?"

* * *

Elizaveta's blood seemed to rush upon hearing Mathias' laughter; it was so musical to her that it greatly pleased her ears to hear it. _Was that why the techno music wasn't enough for me?_ she mused.

The Hungarian was ripped away from her thoughts as she was pulled off, letting out a small yelp. However, her wrist had, to her, the most soothing and warm grip it has ever received. She found herself staring at Mathias' hand and the end of her arm, but again, her attention was dragged off elsewhere. The familiar salty smell invaded the air she was breathing and the sights of Copenhagen overwhelmed her eyes. As bicyclists zipped past her, Elizaveta scanned the city, absorbing everything around her; indeed, the buildings were modern and the town alive with the Danish people. The atmosphere, too, welcomed her as if she was just another citizen.

Wearing a smile, Elizaveta exhaled steadily. _It's beautiful._ Mathias' question made her swerve around to face him, her eyes shining with amazement and happiness, and the woman replied ecstatically, "Anywhere!"

* * *

Mathias observed the Hungarian as she looked around. _She really does look happy...and excited._ He smiled and crossed his arms, nodding his head to one direction of the street. "Well, you said you wanted to do some shopping, right? We can hit up _Strøget_. It's a big street with plenty of shops among other things...and if we're lucky, we can catch some street performers." He once again grabbed her by the wrist as he pulled her down the block towards _Strøget_. He himself looked around a bit, admiring his own city, and enjoyed the rush every time someone passed on a bicycle.

The Dane then turned to a street free of cars, instead filled with pedestrians. "Welcome to the heart of Copenhagen." He gestured to the long street, bustling with people. The air was full of sounds-laughter and conversation and music, both being played from bars and cafes as well as by street musicians. Every now and then a burst of clapping could be heard from a distant street performance.

"It's a pedestrian street, so you don't have to worry about cars or bike riders." He nodded. "So? Just want to walk down and see what interests you?"

* * *

_Danish street performers?_ "I'd like to see that along with shopping," Elizaveta agreed, nodding. She watched Mathias' hand dive in towards her to snatch her hand again and willingly followed him, jogging a bit to catch up with his steps.

While roaming around the city, Elizaveta did her best to capture an image and glue it to her memories. She knew that she wouldn't be visiting this city that often and should take advantage of what she had now. Her empty hand reached down her dress to get her camera, but realized that she had left it at her house. _And I don't have it the time I'm not taking pictures of two guys together..._ Elizaveta continued gazing the city until she found herself making eye contact with several men standing outside a pub, who all seemed to trade a few words with each other once they knew she saw them. Her eyebrows crooked in suspicion, but she turned around a corner with Mathias and was grateful that they made that direction change.

The Hungarian breathed out again upon witnessing the center of the city. "It's beautiful," she murmured, her eyes incredible. It had been too long since she actually enjoyed swimming around an ocean of people, unlike the meetings she had with the other nations which had distressed her. "Sure, let's do that!" Elizaveta's wrist squeezed out of Mathias' grasp and took his with her own hand, leading the way instead.

Elizaveta's eyes kept switching from one store to a street performer to another store, debating what to do first, until someone called out loudly and swerved her attention away from the city. She looked around at first, confused where the voice was coming from, but another shout confirmed that the person was below her. A man a few feet away from her was kneeling on the floor, attempting to catch pedestrians and beckoning them with a waving hand. There was a small crowd already present, and, curious, Elizaveta joined the circle of people around the man. He was toying around with three inverted cups and was randomly moving them around swiftly, with a ball that appeared every once in a while beneath them. She perked up as the man faced her with a grin once the man stopped the three cups, picking her out of the number of pedestrians around him. "Hey, pretty lady there, would you like to guess where the ball is?"

The Hungarian frowned at getting pointed out, let alone asked to choose which cup contained the ball. She didn't pay too close attention to where the ball was, thinking that the man had chosen her because she had just arrived and knew himself that she didn't know. "Um..." Elizaveta started, hesitating.

* * *

Mathias smiled at the Hungarian's reaction, not expecting her to be so enthralled by the city. He blinked in surprise when he saw he lost his grip on her wrist and that now she was hold his wrist, and before he knew it he was being tugged along. It didn't take much for him however to keep up with Elizaveta, his long legs making up for it. The Dane himself wondered what the Hun was going to go, seeing her attention constantly changing from one thing to another. _If she's like other girls...we'll end up never leaving this street. _

Mathias was then suddenly jerked over to a small group of people. Seeing that something had caught Elizaveta's attention in particular, he perked up and came up next to her to see what it was. He saw a man, with three cups, and he had just asked the Hungarian to figure out where the ball was. Mathias frowned.

"No, Eli. This guy is just out to get money out of you." He pulled his arm back, in turn jerking Elizaveta backwards, causing her to nearly loose her balance and use him as support. Mathias glared at the man. _I've seen this too many times before..._ "Go take your con artistry somewhere else. It is not welcome here." His words dripped with venom, and the crowd around the man had already backed away, and now hearing that the man was probably a con artist, quickly turned around and walked away. Mathias threw one last glare at the man before turning around and dragging Elizaveta away, back to walking down the street.

"You can't trust everyone." His voice was low as he looked straight ahead. _Great. What an impression._ Shaking off his bitter attitude, he looked back to the Hungarian, laughing. "Well, wanna head down a bit so we hit some of the bigger shops? We can also go to the mall that's just off the street down aways. It's up to you."

* * *

Elizaveta felt a yank on her arm again, stumbling backwards but then grabbing onto Mathias' arm to prevent herself from tripping. She stared up at Mathias, surprised with his words and his sudden change in personality. Something stimulated inside her own body from hearing his voice, but shook it away. Before she could say a word, Elizaveta was dragged off once more like a dog on a leash. "Sorry," she quietly apologized, having forgotten about Mathias and his preference for her to stop saying that.

After a few seconds of silence, which she used to catch up with Mathias, Elizaveta smiled, though tried to ignore his mood switch. Without answering his question, the Hungarian managed to intertwine their hands together, again leading Mathias astray from the street and sharply turning to walk straight into a shop, one for particularly men's clothing. She stopped walking once she was a few steps into the store and turned around, bending her head back to make eye contact with Mathias. "Stay here," she ordered him gently, then released his hand to roam around the store to find clothes she would find fitting for the Dane. _Time to dress up Mathias,_ Elizaveta thought, giggling aloud.

* * *

Mathias looked down at his hand in surprise as he felt Elizaveta's fingers intertwine with his. He enjoyed the feel of her hand with his, and let himself get pulled along as she scouted out a store. _If anyone saw us..._ His thoughts were cut off as they entered a store. Looking around, he realized it was a store specializing in men's clothing. He simply stared at Elizaveta as she left him, managing to utter an "O-okay" to her command. _What are we doing in a..._ And then it hit him. _...Oh no._

The Dane sighed. _I didn't realize I'd be getting myself into this._ But he couldn't help but be curious as to what the Hungarian would do, so he decided to look at what was near him. The store itself was a modern shop-everything looked sleek in white and black and grey, with interesting lights placed around and strange shelves, complete with techno music blaring. His fingers tapped to the beat as he waiting for Elizaveta to return, and he tried to avoid the stares of several other girls in the shop. _Eli, hurry up._

* * *

Elizaveta, being incredibly professional when it came to pick out clothing (she had much practice with Feliciano and Lovino), had probably snatched about five different jackets within a minute, all which hung on her crooked arm. She was like a bee buzzing around a batch of flowers, though running from rack to rack rather than flower to flower, and by the end of perhaps just a few minutes, Elizaveta had a mixture of coats and shirts for the Dane to try on, having skipped the pants section on purpose since she believed that Mathias had plenty of pants of their style. She returned to Mathias with a wide smile on her face, and when he was in sight, Elizaveta tossed a stylish white shirt and gray jacket at him.

"Try these on," Elizaveta urged him, then moved around him to stand behind him. She pushed the Dane with both of her hands, her elbows locked in a position that made her arms stick straight out, while forcing him to head towards the fitting room.

* * *

Mathias was startled by Elizaveta's sudden return and her instant action to get him to the fitting rooms as he caught the clothes she threw at him. "Okay okay-I'm _going_!" Once they reached the fitting rooms, the Dane sighed. He turned to Elizaveta. "Do I _have_ to?" Knowing very well what the Hungarian's response was going to be, he went into the fitting room anyway.

_I hope she doesn't keep this up all night._ He looked at the large size of the fitting room, and with door still open, he looked back at the Hun. "Since it looks like you're only making me try shirts on-just want to come in? It'll be annoying having to constantly leave the room..."

* * *

A smile crept onto her face when Mathias realized that she didn't need to reply. "Hehe," she quietly giggled. Though, when the man reappeared to 'invite' her, Elizaveta was startled and frowned a bit. But knowing herself, she couldn't - and wouldn't - help it. She wanted to smile, but kept on a normal face. "Sure," the Hungarian replied, looking around for anyone before entering the fitting room. _I get the chance to see this, but I don't have my camera with me. Oh, just my luck._

Elizaveta took a seat on a nearby bench provided by the room, then sorted out the jackets and shirts onto her lap. _I'm going to end up buying one of these jackets,_ she thought. Even if she was a woman, the man that she believed to be when she was young was still lingering in her body. _Maybe it'll come in handy in the future. Plus, I like these clothes._ Her hand lifted up one of the several jackets in the pile, examining it to see if it suited her. "When you've changed into the clothes, tell me," she noted to Mathias.

* * *

Mathias shut and locked the door of the fitting room. He hung up the shirt and jacket on a hook to free his hands so he could get out of his current clothing. He glanced over at the Hungarian, who was busy looking at the clothing in her lap. "Right." He carefully took off his jacket and hung it on a separate hook, but quickly got out of the beanie, scarf, and red shirt. In a matter of a few seconds he got into the white shirt, and then he slid into the gray jacket. As he ruffled his own hair while looking in the mirror, he looked back at Elizaveta.

"There, changed." He turned around, leaning against the wall of the fitting room. "Why am I doing this again?"

* * *

Once Elizaveta lowered the jacket she held, she realized that Mathias had already changed into the clothes she handed him. _Darn it._ Putting aside her jacket of interest, the girl quickly inspected him from head to toe, wearing a determined look on her face. "You're doing this because I want you to," Elizaveta explained with a simple but selfish answer, smirking. The Hungarian snatched a black shirt and a white jacket this time, then threw those clothes at him. "Now try those." She started rearranging the pile of clothing again, but made sure to peek at Mathias' body this round.

* * *

The Dane cocked an eyebrow at the Hungarian. "Because you want me to, huh." He softly laughed and smirked back at Elizaveta. He shook his head as he caught the new shirt and jacket. He slid out of the gray jacket and threw it to the side. He didn't change as fast this time, glancing at the mirror with only the shirt on before taking it off. He struggled with the black shirt for a few seconds before putting it on. It was stylized to fit tight against the body, therefore showing the muscular build of the Dane much like his red graphic tee did. He then put on the white jacket and looked over at Elizaveta again.

"This better not be all we're doing." He laughed. "I'm going to get tired of this fairly soon. Besides, didn't we come here for _your_ shopping?"

* * *

While Mathias changed for the second time, Elizaveta paused in the middle of her sorting to discretely steal a glance at his body. She caught him having trouble getting on the black article of clothing, which was fortunate for her since he wouldn't catch her staring at him, and lightly flustered. _D-Damn! His body build...if only I had my camera, then I could stare at the picture and him all I want..._ Shaking her head to return her face to its original skin shade, Elizaveta happily looked at Mathias' new attire, and stared at him. _...Why do men look so good in white?_

"No no, we're not doing this all day," Elizaveta chuckled, failing to cover up her secret admiration hinted in her voice. "And you're right; I may as well stop making you dress up like a doll for me." She purposely and bluntly told him that to amuse herself and see Mathias' reaction, hoping to tick him off. Bundling together the clothes she had planned for the Dane to put on, Elizaveta rose, grabbed the other jacket she was going to buy for herself in a different hand, and ambled over to the gray jacket Mathias had discarded. "I'm going to buy this jacket, so I'll head off to the cashier."

* * *

Mathias blinked at the Hungarian's response, then narrowed his eyes. "Dressing me up like a doll." He moved so that he was standing in front of Elizaveta, blocking her from leaving the fitting room. "So I'm your doll now, huh?" The Viking smirked at the thought, and decided he would have some fun. "Well, dolls can't move on their own, now can they?" He let himself lean and slightly collapse on the Hungarian, using her for support. He then looked out of the corner of his eye to see the jacket that she was talking about.

"You're going to buy a men's jacket? Why am I not surprised..." He snickered, though still clinged to the Hungarian, still blocking her way from the door. "But yes...as a doll, I think I'll need some _assistance_." The Dane knew this would either tick off the Hungarian or fluster her, and he was fine with either reaction.

* * *

Just as she was about to leave the room, Elizaveta was somewhat startled by Mathias' sudden move. At first, she frowned, but upon realizing that he was messing around again, her lips curled up into a smirk. Her Hun personality was taking over again, but managed to control herself. _So this is the trap he decided to set up,_ she assumed.

The Hun felt her body get weighed down by Mathias; even if she was able to handle his weight without a problem, she was still playfully irritated with him. "Oh, you little bastard," she whispered, then at a moderate volume, "I can make dolls move on their own. Watch." Elizaveta's right hand turned into a fist and made its way down to fire a single, hard jab into Mathias' stomach, not allowing the Dane to get away with it. "Don't question my style, either."

* * *

Mathias smirked at Elizaveta's whisper, but gritted his teeth as she punched him. It had knocked some air out of him, and he flinched a bit backwards, but kept himself attached to the Hun. "Bitch," He said with the little air he had left in him. He then regained his breath and laughed. "My, what a trick you seem to have there." Mathias repositioned himself so that he was slouching over, an arm on each shoulder of the Hungarian, his eyes level with hers. "And I'm not questioning your style. I think that'll look pretty cute on you, actually." He smirked again, waiting for her response. _Though we should probably leave the fitting room soon...the employees won't be happy to see a guy and a girl in one of them._

* * *

Elizaveta crossed her arms with the ball of clothes against her body, once again unimpressed with Mathias. His height was nagging at her, too - he was far too tall for her. _But that just gives him more work,_ she noticed, and went along with it. Her head bent in closer to close the distance between their faces, again replaying the events of their drunk night. Her eyes narrowed and her irises darkened into a deep green as she smiled and murmured, exhaling her breath onto his lips, "Thank you." Her hand then grabbed the bundle of clothes and stuffed it into his face, twisting it around. "Now get changed and move out of my way."

* * *

Mathias felt a chill run down his spine at the Hun's movement, and the feel of her breath on his lips didn't help. He had been so distracted and lost in her green eyes he didn't notice her moving, and soon his vision was blocked by clothing. "_Mmmpf_," he talked into the bundle of clothing. He slowly straightened his back and got off of the Hungarian, forcing the bundle of clothing away from his face. He shook his head and laughed. "Okay, okay, miss almighty."

He quickly (but carefully) took off the jacket and shirt, straightening them out and folding them back to how they were. He then slipped back into his red shirt and black jacket, the chains _clinkclinking_ as he fixed it up and wrapped the scarf once more around his neck. He smoothed a hand through his hair before replacing the black beanie. Mathias then listened to any sounds coming from outside, and only hearing a distant conversation and the techno music, he opened the door and walked out, letting the Hungarian follow. "I'll take care of the rest of the clothes. Go buy what you want."

* * *

Elizaveta closed her eyes, recovering her normal self. Though she was having fun herself, she was glad that Mathias decided to cooperate and stop himself before the store managers requested that they leave. _I wonder if they even noticed..._ When Mathias opened the fitting room, it confirmed that the employees weren't keeping a close eye on them. _But still...oh well._ It's too late to change that.

The Hungarian followed the Dane for a few steps, but after he insisted on returning the clothes, she was tempted to just do it herself. However, Elizaveta didn't want to cause a scene, knowing that Mathias would end up taking the clothes anyways, and handed the Viking the unwanted shirts and jackets.

She made her way to the cashier, noticing that the staff members running the store were conversing to each other in Danish. When they noticed her, one of the two men smiled at her, but she could sense some insecurity emitting from him. _He found out...at least he didn't make a big deal out of it._ Elizaveta placed the jacket on the counter and dug into her dress' pocket for her purse, using her credit card to purchase the jacket. Once the payment process was complete, Elizaveta grabbed her belongings and grinned, saying a kind "thank you" to break the silence and waited for Mathias at the entrance.

* * *

Mathias was glad that the Hungarian didn't resist too much against him putting the clothes away, and he stole a glance at the staff as he walked around, placing the shirts and jackets where they seemed to be from. He didn't get very far before a staff member ran up to him and relieved him of the clothing. "I'll do it, don't worry about it." She smiled at him, and stared for a while. Suddenly a realization came upon her face. Her eyes widened and she almost said something before Mathias placed a finger to his own lips silenced her. She murmured something in Danish and nodded her head to him-almost to the point of a bow-before turning around to place the clothing away.

Mathias sighed, glad that the employee didn't make an outburst. It was tough for the nations to go around and blend in with the normal population. What he once thought was pretty undercover seemed to be a bit more in the open-it seemed it didn't take much for the people to notice something a little different in the nations. _Hopefully Elizaveta doesn't get found out either._

He turned on his heel and walked back to the entrance. Seeing that the Hungarian was done, he opened the door, gesturing for her to leave first. Once outside, he looked to the sky. _It's almost evening-time._

"What do you want to do now? More shopping? Eat? Go to an amusement park?" As he questioned her, he began to walk down the street. The smell of ice cream and pastries began to fill the air as they passed some ice cream shops and cafes. Mathias noticed a gang of shady characters were following Elizaveta, and instinctively he stopped, waited for the Hungarian to catch up, and placed an arm around the her shoulder, bringing the Hun against him as they walked. "Don't look behind you." He whispered. He knew well that though for the most part Copenhagen was a safe place, beggars and thieves could be found everywhere.

* * *

Elizaveta first searched for Mathias and his tall body within the store, and eventually found and watched him make his way back into _Strøget_, happily following him and wondering what she would like to see next. Before answering, Elizaveta's back tensed as Mathias' arm came around her. She was just about to question him about publicizing them as a couple, but once she told to not turn back, the Hungarian understood his actions, nodded, and kept walking, cautious about herself. (However, she did admit that she enjoyed having his warm body against hers.) Her body relaxed and she pondered about what they should do.

"I'd shop, but I'll do that another time," Elizaveta decided, aware that men weren't too fond when it came to women and their shopping sprees. She had plenty of experience to know that. "But I have no idea where to go - there's so much to do here that we can't cover all of Copenhagen by tonight. Why don't _you_ show me the good places to visit?"

* * *

Mathias laughed, glad that the Hungarian had relaxed and wouldn't punch him for his action. "Hmmmm," he pondered, his eyes drifting to a nearby clock tower. _It's 5:00 PM._ "You're right, there is no way we can cover everything in one night. So I'll show you all of the city's wonder as the sun decides to take its leave." They continued to walk together, the Dane himself enjoying the feel of the Hungarian's body against his.

Soon he had led her off of the pedestrian walkway, and before long they stood in front of a large archway, a lighted and decorated sign reading _Tivoli_ across the top. He glanced at the Hungarian before leading her under the archway and entrance. Soon they found themselves among a bustling crowd full of adults and children alike as various rides operated and vendors sold snacks.  
"Like roller coasters?"

* * *

Elizaveta soon discovered that she was standing beneath a rather homely and welcoming entrance, but to what she wasn't too sure. Mathias made it sound like a theme park - or maybe it was one - but all she could see were trees. The Hungarian then frowned at his inquiry. "After what I've been through in the car? No," she laughed. "But really, I'm not that fond of roller coasters." Her hair, if anything, would fly into other peoples' faces. She wasn't that sort of person who liked to things that surpassed the speed of horses, either. Thus, roller coasters weren't something she particularly liked.

Elizaveta was also eager to look behind her to see whatever Mathias was worried about was still there or whatever it was, but ended up observing what she was able to see from her field of vision.

* * *

Mathias laughed along with Elizaveta. "I figured-you seemed pretty freaked out in the car." He pulled her along down a path. Soon it opened up to an expanse of space, a large fountain in the middle. A variety of flowers could be seen, and the gardens seemed to be very well kept. Aside from that, a large ferris wheel could be seen, along with the other rides. Screams from a nearby roller coaster were clearly heard as the ride flashed in and out of view.

"This is Tivoli. It's the second oldest amusement park in the world-and you know all of that Disney stuff? Yeah, this started it." He continued to walk, so that the two of them were fully inside. Some children ran by, laughing and balancing ice cream cones. Near the ferris wheel stood a tall carousel, where a nearby sign indicated it to be eighty meters high, offering panoramic views of the city.

"Now don't tell me you're scared of heights." He motioned to both the ferris wheel and carousel. "That's _Himmelskibet_-The Sky Ship. The world's tallest carousel." The Dane grinned, once again not being able to help himself from boasting.

* * *

Elizaveta held her breath as the park was unveiled before her; she stared in awe at the colorful and green sights that highly pleased her eyes. She watched the children pass by with ice cream, carefully keeping her eyes on the dessert in case it fell off, and once they were out of sight, Elizaveta bent her head back to gaze at the attractions that Mathias pointed out. "Wow," the Hungarian uttered, though didn't show too much surprise. "And no, I'm not scared of heights." Her hand came up to give him a light, playful whack on the head.

She then returned to examining the flowers sitting beneath her. Kneeling down, a smile came onto her face; Elizaveta always had a thing for flowers - her garden in front of her house could say that much. She rubbed the petals with her fingers, lightly so that the flower wouldn't become damaged but enough to admire the soft, silky texture it had. "I could stay here all day," Elizaveta murmured, not specifically to anyone.

* * *

"_Hey!_" Mathias rubbed his head, laughing. He had watched her admire the park, and being who he was he nearly felt like gloating. But he kept his mouth shut and instead watched as the Hungarian knelt, a little surprised by her sudden engrossment in the flowers. The Dane took advantage of her being distracted. His eyes traced her body, her gentle yet firm hands that played with the flower petals, her deep green eyes sparkling in wonder. As a breeze swept through her hair slightly shifted, certain strands flying in such a way that nearly made it look like Elizaveta was in a shoot for a Covergirl magazine. _I could stare at her forever..._

Her murmur snapped Mathias out of it. He knelt down next to her, though not removing his gaze on the Hungarian, and smiled. "We can take a walk in the gardens if you want. Some food and a ride in the ferris wheel too, if you want."

* * *

"A walk would be nice," Elizaveta admitted, though was concerned about Mathias again. She turned her head to make eye contact with the Dane, enjoying his sea blue irises under the near evening sky. "Aren't you bored out of your mind, though? I can't imagine how many times you've visited Copenhagen already. And every time you bring up an idea to do something, you're always wanting my opinion on it." She smiled in thanks for him being so considerate. Her eyes came back to the flower she was touching, almost considering to put one of the flowers from the garden into her hair.

* * *

Mathias softly laughed, grinning afterwards. "Yes, I have been here countless times-after all, I do have another house here. But I really don't mind-like I said before, I love this city. And it's actually been a while since I've been to Tivoli." Noticing her strong interest in the flower, he himself reached out and picked up a particular stunning flower-a yellow circle, surrounded by white, and the tips that looked like they had been dipped in red paint. He placed it in her hair, next to the pink flower already nestled there. He then straightened back up, looking around, before extending a hand to the Hungarian. "And you're the guest. Of course I'm going to want your opinion!" He chuckled. "Come on, then."

* * *

And then he did it. He just _had_ to read her mind. Elizaveta's mouth opened to call him against it, her hand raising in midair, but once she heard the _pop_ of the stem, her arm fell limp beside her and she frowned. However, she lightly blushed as Mathias inserted the flower into her hair, beside her other one. Elizaveta stared at the hand that was offered to her, giving off yet another pouting face, and shook her head as she accepted the hand and used it as support to get herself standing again. "Mathias, Mathias, Mathias," she said with an accompanying smile. "Alright, let's go."

* * *

Mathias noticed the Hungarian's blush, and couldn't help but let a small smile creep onto his lips. _Cute._ He gripped her hand firmly as she stood up, and then cocked an eyebrow at the woman as she repeated his name. "What? I know I'm pretty awesome, but no need to have to say my name three times." He laughed, returning Elizaveta's smile. Nodding, he linked arms with her as they walked down a path and entered one of the gardens.

They could still see the lights of the various rides and stands of the park as the evening sky became darker, the sun moving on its way to set. As they walked on a bridge over a dazzling pond, the sky perfectly reflecting on its surface so it looked more like a mirror, the two Europeans caught the attention of a man. Behind him were several people, all seeming to get ready for something. Some looked like event coordinators, others...all seemed to be couples.

"Ah, you two have to be the most beautiful couple I've seen all night!" The man walked up to the two, ushering them to join with the rest of the crowd. "Please, won't you participate? We have a game. Only couples can join-the couple that wins gets a free dinner at any of the fine restaurants Copenhagen has to offer!" He grinned widely at the two of them.

Mathias blinked at the man before finally responding. "Uh, I'm sorry sir, but we're not exactl-"

"Nonsense! Don't give me that ole' excuse to get out of it. It's been used so many times, and anyone would have to be a fool to not be able to spot a couple of lovebirds like you two." The man laughed. Mathias couldn't help but feel a light blush come across his cheeks. As his skin returned to its normal shade, he tried to say something again. "Come! Come!" The man ended up pulling on Mathias and caught him off balance, so that the Dane ended up being dragged (along with Elizaveta) to the small crowd. He looked to Elizaveta helplessly. _What do I do?_

* * *

Elizaveta rolled her eyes, but then flustered heavily when Mathias' arm crossed hers. She wanted to back away or disconnect themselves, but at the same time, she was hoping for something like this. However, knowing better, Elizaveta decided to try to talk herself out of it. "M-Mathias, shouldn't we...not...do this? This is a public area, and if p-people catch us together - and even worse, notice that w-we're _nations_-" Her voice dropped to a whisper upon saying her last word, but it was, again, too late. Elizaveta spent so long stammering that the man deeper within Tivoli had noticed the two together and was already trying to hook them up into something. And what, she really didn't want to know.

Seeing as Mathias was trying to talk his way out of it, the Hungarian remained silent; but when the man insisted that they participate, Elizaveta began to worry, and her face was completely pink-red. Embarrassed, she fixed Mathias' jacket around her head to try to curtain her face. Her eyes returned a very concerned look at Mathias, too shy and overwhelmed herself to enjoy seeing Mathias blush, and was helplessly taken along. _This may not end too well..._

_

* * *

__**A/N:**_

_**xNeyu:** I cannot stop fangirling every time I remember that Denmark and Hungary are on a date. xDD_

_Also, yes, our lovely Denmark roleplayer (**Amerzt**) has been researching about Copenhagen - we found out about how awesome that city is. We both want to live there now. XD  
And yes, Denmark is quite fashionable-Copenhagen as been deemed the Fashion Capital of Scandinavia. ;D_


	17. Chapter 16

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 16**

* * *

Mathias saw that the Hungarian herself was too stunned and flustered at the moment to say anything. _Though she does look awfully cute when she blushes like that._ He shook his head. Remembering her earlier stammering when they had linked arms, he inwardly groaned. _Maybe I shouldn't have...but..._ He couldn't help but admit that he kind of liked that others paired the two of them together, and as the man had said-_lovebirds, huh? _

The man finally stopped and turned to face the Dane and Hungarian again, grinning once more. "Don't worry-the game is simple. There are six other couples competing. Now, look over to those trees." The man pointed to a row of tall trees a few meters away. In each were nestled what seemed to be a small ball, each a different color. "You, my lady, will have to get on his back. He'll then have to race the others to that tree, and your job will be to grab that ball. You sir will have to then run back, over to that bucket. " He pointed to a bucket behind them. "Dunk the ball in the bucket. Be the first and you win!"

Mathias' eyes had followed the man's motion, and upon hearing the end of his words, all he could do was blink. _That sounds simple..._ He stole a glance at the six couples that the man had chosen. All of them seemed determined and were giggling and clinging to each other. Great...

The man looked to the time, and then nodded to several others. "Well then, let's get started! Get ready and in your starting positions, everyone!"

* * *

At first, the man's words started to blur in her ears. She didn't want to do this - not one bit. However, when her eyes came upon the other couples, a fire lit inside of her. _...There's no way I want to lose to them._ Her inner competitive self now running, Elizaveta intently listened to the man's instructions. Riding on Mathias back? She could definitely do that without a problem - it reminded her much about horseback riding. However, she realized that her experience with horses would only benefit the two of them if Mathias could handle her weight. _He's a Viking - I'm sure he can._

When the man queued them to get into their positions, Elizaveta slid Mathias' jacket off of her shoulders and tossed both that and her new clothing to the side before it caused trouble during the game. She hopped onto Mathias' back, almost as she would on a horse, pushing one of his broad shoulders down to lift herself onto him, and managed to hang onto the Dane with her arms around his neck and her legs propped up around his upper body. Unladylike - yes, but she was stuck with this.

"Mathias, if you screw up, you're dead," Elizaveta muttered darkly into his ears, her tone of voice on the edge of murder.

* * *

Mathias was startled as he suddenly felt the Hungarian on his back, her arms around his neck and legs wrapped around him. A blush sweeped across his face for a few seconds before he regained his normal composure. He knew that she was eager to compete because of the challenge, as she kicked into her Hun instincts. His eyes went to inspect the other men-they were all young, but he was sure that he beat them in body build and strength. _And speed. I'll definitely beat them in speed. _

The Viking smirked at the Hun's words. _Oh, she's set out to kill, all right._ "Don't worry," He snickered, and slightly bent over, getting ready to run and put his arms under and around the Hun's legs, locking them into a position so that Elizaveta shouldn't be able to fall. "This'll be easy."

The man looked over to the "couple" and couldn't help but smile. The other couples all seemed to be ready, and it looked to him that the six couples seemed to be intimidated by the seventh. _Don't blame 'em-those two look mighty fierce._ The short man straightened up and raised a bright yellow flag. "On your marks...get ready...set...GO!" He brought his arm and the flag sweeping down and a loud whistle was heard. The moment the Dane knew he could move, he sprinted to the trees, the weight of Elizaveta on his back not affecting him at all. After all, he was used to carrying heavy things. Mathias didn't take his eyes off of the tree and was able to reach in a matter of seconds. He laughed inwardly as he realized the other couples were having a bit of trouble catching up.

* * *

Elizaveta braced herself as the man called out the starting calls to the race. A whistle then blared into her ears, causing her eyes to remain locked open and as a wind blew in her face and making her hair fly up in the air. Her heart beat significantly faster due to her adrenaline; the Hungarian eyed the other couples every once in a while to make sure that Mathias wasn't lagging behind them. However, she didn't need to say one word as the Dane was doing pretty well. Before Mathias reached the trees, Elizaveta prepared herself to retrieve the ball, and once the Viking arrived, the Hungarian managed to climb onto his shoulders and balance herself there, diving her arm into the tree to search for the ball. After a few anticipating seconds, she was able to get hold of the ball and swiftly slid back onto Mathias' back.

"_C'mon!_" Elizaveta ordered, much like a soldier - a Hun - and instinctively kicked Mathias' leg lightly to get him moving.

* * *

Mathias kept his balance as he supported Elizaveta who had climbed onto his shoulders. Before long she had managed to get the ball and had reattached herself to his back. Yet before the Dane could even take a step the woman had swiftly kicked him, and he gritted his teeth. "_I'm going_, goddammit!" Mathias knew very well that Elizaveta was fully in Hun mode, her need to beat the others in the competition awakening her vicious side. The Viking in him had also come out with the meet of a challenge, and his legs quickly moved to sprint back towards the bucket. The other couples seemed to lag behind a bit, the girls having some trouble getting the balls out of the tree. One other couple however seemed to be doing a decent job, and the other man almost caught up to the Viking. _Oh no he won't._

With a few more long and agile steps, the two were at the bucket. He fell to one knee as he waited for the Hun to dunk the ball into it. _That was easy...the other couples suck._ The Dane realized but soon ignored the fact that he had thought "_other_ couples".

* * *

Elizaveta tightly gripped the ball in her hand in fear of losing it, and successfully managed to return to the starting line without losing it. She was more worried, however, about the other pair who were able to keep up with their pace. "Hell no," she muttered, and twisting her head back to face the same direction as the wind, her heart pounded furiously as the two of them approached the final step to win the competition. Elizaveta dunked the ball into the bucket with a harsh throw of her arm and without a single bit of time wasted, hoping that it did the trick for them.

Her eyes double checked the bucket to make sure that it was in there as the whistle screamed in her ears again - knowing that it was in for sure, her head lifted up to the man hosting the race, waiting for the results. _Did we win? Did we win?_

* * *

Mathias felt the Hungarian's weight shift and saw the ball being dunked into the bucket. The man laughed and clapped after the blare of the whistle was died down. The other couples panted and collapsed at the starting line, some of the other girls glaring at their male counterparts. The man yelled out to the crowd.

"Aaaaaaand our winners are-couple number seven!" Mathias smirked and gladly accepted the ribbons that another man gave them. "As promised, there are two passes for a free dinner to any restaurant in the city!" Mathias accepted the envelope the short man gave to him, waddling about. The other couples looked to the two of them, some clapping in good sportsmanship. The girls got together and giggled, whispering to each other. "Wow-that's one good looking couple. That guy is _to die for_. And that girl is soooo pretty!" Some of the guys ended up glaring at Mathias, but didn't say anything.

"Thank you," The Dane managed to reply to the man, though it took him a few seconds to do so.

* * *

Elizaveta sighed in relief and allowed herself to slip off of Mathias. She frowned at the ribbons and the prizes, having forgotten about the items that they won for achieving first place. Walking over beside Mathias, she smiled with a light blush, rubbing her head once again in embarrassment. "Thank you," Elizaveta told the man. She glanced up at the Dane to take a peek at his reaction - he seemed satisfied. Her gaze then shifted over to the other couples, grateful that some of them decided to accept and recognize them as the winners. Her ears picked up the gossip among the girls, but chose to filter them out before she thought highly of herself.

"Looks like we already have a free dinner," Elizaveta murmured, the far ends of her eyebrows down as her eyes peered up at the Viking. The Hun inside her seemed to have flown away. "Should we go and eat?" She felt many pairs of eyes sticking their looks onto her, and slowly turned her head to see a few boys of the other couples staring at her. Elizaveta flinched, then tried ignoring them by facing Mathias.

* * *

The man shook his head to their thanks. "No problem-you two won if fair and square! Now go have a romantic dinner, you two!" The man winked before walking away. Mathias lightly blushed at the man's words and stuffed the ribbons in his jeans' pocket, but held onto the envelope that was the key to their free dinner. He laughed softly at Elizaveta's murmur as his cheeks turned back to normal. "It seems we do." He looked up to the sky. _It's nearly dark._ "Sure, if you're hungry. We can go eat now."

The Dane then noticed the Hungarian flinch, and his eyes glanced to see the other boys staring and checking out Elizaveta. He also noticed that the girls were giving him similar treatment. Mathias suddenly got protective of the Hungarian and he put a hand around her waist and made it so the two were facing the other way. "Let's go, then."

* * *

"Let's go, then! I'd like to try some more of your food." Elizaveta smiled, quickly grabbed her belongings, and began to walk off, but not without getting a wave goosebumps from Mathias' hold on her waist. She went along with it until they were out of sight from the other couples and the game field, then softly slapped the Dane's hand off of her.

"That's before we get dragged into something else," the Hungarian muttered. "Anyways, you should take me to the most expensive and best restaurant in Copenhagen - if you can tell. The tickets wouldn't be used wisely if we didn't." Her hand reached up to her hair to feel if her flowers were still there; somehow, both her usual flower and Mathias' flower were still settled above her ear. Elizaveta let out a small chuckle. _Strange, but that's fine with me._

* * *

Mathias rubbed the slapped hand with his other one, throwing a pout at the Hungarian before laughing. "Riiiight. But, looks like you had enjoyed it, the game." He teased. He placed his hands in his jacket pockets as he pondered where to go for dinner. "Okay, your highness, only the best for _you_." The Dane snickered as the two approached the exit of the park. Mathias then took his right hand out of the pocket which held the pass. He opened it to make sure it didn't have any exceptions in tiny print. Realizing that it was a genuine pass for a free dinner, he turned to the Hungarian.

"Well, you're in luck. It just so happens to be that I lay claim to the best restaurant in the world-and I'm not making it up. Check any of the magazines." He grinned. The Dane once again took a hold of Elizaveta's hand as he led her down several streets. Turning a corner, they were met by the waterside.

With the sky darkening, lights dazzled the street, reflecting in the water. It created a dreamy atmosphere as music could be heard playing from various shops and pubs. Mathias soon led the woman outside a door, where to its side in large letters it read "_noma_". "Since you're here, might as well try some genuine Nordic cuisine, am I right?" He looked to the Hungarian, waiting for her approval.

* * *

Elizaveta scoffed at the Viking's teasing._I'm not answering that._ She walked beside Mathias, taking a last look at the garden before departing. Her eyes also widened once he declared that Copenhagen was home to the finest restaurant - she glanced at his face to confirm his truthfulness, and he seemed serious alright. "Really now? Impressive."

The Hungarian was surprised yet again by Mathias, who had snatched her hand too many times already. _There he goes_ again. A light blush came upon her face, but that blush disappeared as Elizaveta sighted the waterside. The reflection of the city on the water seemed to perfectly mirror the buildings above it, but only blurred. The scent of the sea, too, seemed to be present in every breath of air she took in. Distracted, the Hungarian continued to be led off to whatever restaurant Mathias had in mind. Eventually, the foreign word in large font size stole her gaze, then Elizaveta turned to the Dane. She at first had a dazed look on her face, but then grinned and nodded. "May as well."

* * *

Mathias couldn't help but smile as he caught the Hungarian's dazed look. He took the beanie off of his head and combed a hand through his hair, thrusting the beanie in his jacket pocket. "Well then, here you are. Noma, supposedly the best restaurant on the planet." He opened the door for Elizaveta, allowing her to go in first before following.

They were at once greeted by the host, who wore a smile as he saw the "couple" come in, but his eyes looked sympathetic. "Welcome! But I'm sorry to inform you two that unless you have a reservation, our restaurant is booked." Mathias frowned. _Damn, I forgot how busy this restaurant has gotten._ He was about to say something, but another man came up behind the host, asking something in Danish, and the two got into a small debate on the supply of wine, from what he caught. The second man looked up to the two Europeans as well, also wearing a sorry smile. "We apologize. I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience." Mathias saw the badge on the second man read "manager". The Dane gave a small smile back.

"It's okay-it's understandable. I should have realized." Mathias was about to leave when the manager's eyes widened. He murmured something quickly to the host, who also looked a bit startled.

"W-wait." The host said, holding out a hand. The two men glanced around, and then the host nodded to the manager. "We can accommodate you two. Please, follow me." He picked up two menus and waved to the two of them, walking into the restaurant. Mathias blinked, surprised by the sudden change in seating issues. The manager placed a light hand on the Dane's arm, and murmured something in Danish. Mathias' eyes narrowed as he understood-the two had realized who he was-a nation. The manager nodded to the Viking, much like the store employee-almost a bow. "Please, enjoy your dinner, and feel free to comment or complain on whatever you wish to me." He then scurried off to help out with another group of people.

Mathias looked to Elizaveta with a curious look before he followed the host, who led them to a cozy corner of the restaurant, where a table for two was neatly arranged by a window from which the lights of docked boats could be seen in the harbor. The restaurant gave off a warm vibe, the interior design a mix of wood, leather, glass, and metal, complete with wooden floors, visible bearing constructions and deep, rounded window recesses. "Please, take a seat."

* * *

Elizaveta laughed before entering herself. A breeze of air seemed to fly past her as the door opened - though it smelled much like seafood, it gave off a great Nordic vibe and impression on her. Every seat, from where she could see, was filled; the restaurant, too, was large enough as it already was. _Wow...Mathias is right, no doubt about it._ She then focused her attention on the manager and upon hearing the news, Elizaveta frowned and turned to look at Mathias for a resolution to their problem. _We can always come another time,_ the Hungarian suggested, though in her thoughts rather than aloud.

However, right when Elizaveta turned to leave, she realized that the two men happened to continue conversing with each other; Mathias didn't seem to move, either. As one of the two men beckoned them, the Hungarian returned the Dane's glance. _They decided to take us in...?_ Hesitantly, Elizaveta trailed behind Mathias until they reached the table in the corner. She frowned again, once again thinking of the worst that could happen. _If he decides to pull off anything strange... _

Shaking her head, Elizaveta set her bag down next to her chair and hung Mathias' jacket onto it, then nodded (though with some confusion) in thanks. She carefully settled down in her chair, staring out the window to admire the beauty of the city under the near night sky and absorbing the homely atmosphere. It took her a while to notice that she had to order something, let alone remember that she was in a restaurant.

"Ah," Elizaveta quietly said, then grabbed a menu and flipped through it. Majority of it seemed to be seafood - or perhaps all of it? - and after skimming through the options, the choices seemed to mix inside her head to the point where she could no longer choose for herself. "Could you pick something for me, Mathias? Maybe your favorite dish?"

* * *

Mathias sat down after Elizaveta did, though she did it so quickly he couldn't even offer her the seat. He nodded to the host, who smiled. "A waiter will be with you shortly." The host departed, returning to his station. Settling down himself, he opened the menu and began looking over the various dishes. He couldn't help but glance up and look around the room. The host had purposely sat them in a somewhat private area of the restaurant, where they weren't too visibly seen due to decor that bordered the open part of the corner. There was a large glass window towards the front of the restaurant that allowed patrons to view the chefs at work, and while the two could see them, the chefs could not see the two of them. _Interesting._

He was so lost in his thoughts that he nearly dropped the menu at Elizaveta's question. "Huh? Oh, of course." He again looked down at the menu, pondering himself what he wanted and what was good. "Though, the menu changes every time I come here. They're seasonal." As he thought, a woman appeared at the table, smiling and nodding a head to both of them, and without a word revealed a bottle of champagne and opened it, pouring it into the two glasses on the table."Welcome! My name is Ada and I will be one of several hosts for the evening. Could I start you two off with something additional to drink? Besides the usual pop, coffee and tea, we also have a fine selection of wine and beer." Ada took out notepad and pen, waiting for their order.

Mathias looked over to the Hungarian. "Ladies first." He gestured to her, motioning for her to order her drink first if not already content with the offered champagne. As he waited, he looked back to the menu, deciding on what to get for both himself and the Hun.

* * *

Elizaveta widened her eyes again. "Changes every season? Wow," she mumbled. _I wonder how long it took for this restaurant to become this popular and rich that it could afford to switch dishes._ Elizaveta distracted herself with the chefs beyond the specialized window, watching them create fine pieces of art with just food alone. A kind welcome jolted her not too noticeably, but enough to cause her to suddenly sit up in her chair and peer up at the host. _One_ of several. She cast a glance at the Dane before answering, "I'll take-" The Hungarian paused, with a long chain of thoughts running through her mind in just several seconds:

_Water. Wait, water? Why would I want water at such an expensive place to drink when I could get wine for free? Then again, I just had wine two nights ago, and getting drunk so soon again would just make me feel sick. I'll take water, I guess...but if this really is a top notch restaurant, then I may as well take-_

"Wine." A smile came upon her face to make up for her silence. "And I don't know this place too well, so I'll take your most popular one." Elizaveta then faced back to Mathias to indicate that she was done with her order, but then began to inspect Mathias again - his calm demeanor as his narrowed eyes skimmed the menu particularly stunned her, his handsome facial features seemingly drawing her to him. His serious self, she admitted, was something she could definitely fawn over.

_Stop,_ she told herself, in which her eyes automatically reacted by veering over to the window that offered a view outside the restaurant.

* * *

The waitress smiled in response, her pen racing across the notepad. "Why of course, ma'am. I'll make sure to give you our best wine." She turned to Mathias next. "And you, sir?" When she spoke to him, however, there was a certain tone to her voice-one of admiration. No doubt the whole staff had been alerted that it was _Denmark_ who was dining at the restaurant.

Mathias looked up from the menu. He had secretly smirked behind the large menu when the Hungarian had ordered wine, and scanning over the list of beverages, he returned Ada's smile. "I'll take the same as her." The waitress nodded and flashed another smile before leaving to retrieve the wine. The Dane's eyes then went to Elizaveta, who seemed to be busy looking out the window. He let himself enjoy the sight of her before saying anything, deciding to finish off the small glass of champagne. "Wonderful view, isn't it?" He softly laughed before his eyes slowly moved to the menu once more, setting down the glass.

In a matter of minutes the waitress was back, with two wine glasses and a large bottle of wine. She placed down the glasses and poured the wine into each glass before resting the bottle on the table. "Are you ready to order?"

The Dane nodded to her. "We'll just take the large size of the Langoustine served on a rock and the chestnut with roe salad." He pointed to the entre order in the menu. Ada grinned at his selection and picked up the two menus. "Good choice, sir! I'll put that in right away." She turned on her heel and rushed back towards the kitchen. Mathias sighed and rested back in his chair. He let his gaze focus on the candle in the center of the table, which added to the dim and comforting atmosphere of the restaurant.

* * *

Despite occupying herself with the scenery, Elizaveta picked up Mathias' beverage choice. _Wine too? If the same thing as that other night happens...no, nevermind, this is a restaurant, we wouldn't do that here._ Mathias' laugh then stimulated her, again causing her to switch her view from the outside world to the Viking. "Oh, yes," she replied quietly, smiling, "it is."

As the waiter returned, Elizaveta decided to sneak a sip from the champagne. _Alright Elizaveta, drink moderately this time...or even better, don't drink all that much._ Her eyebrow then raised at Mathias' order; Elizaveta patiently set down her cup of champagne and waited for Ada to leave before making any comment, pouring herself wine to kill a bit of time. The odor of the drink rushed out from the bottle right when she opened it, which suddenly made the Hungarian recall _that_ day. "On a _rock_, huh?" she questioned, grinning in interest as her eyes also settled on the candle between the two of them.

* * *

Mathias couldn't help but steal a glance at the Hungarian as she poured the wine. His thoughts also went back to that day, but he pushed the thoughts away as he laughed at Elizaveta's inquiry, _Both of us are going to have to watch ourselves tonight..._ His eyes again focused on the candle. "Yes, on a rock." The Dane shook his head. "Don't worry. Doesn't mean there's going to be a boulder set in the middle of the table. It's just the style of the dish." A burst of laughter was heard from a distance from a group of people, some of whom seemed to be drunk. Mathias focused his attention back to the Hungarian and smiled, takin a sip of wine.

"So, from what you've seen, like Copenhagen?" He now leaned a bit forward, resting his arms against the edge of the table while still keeping his elbows off.

* * *

Elizaveta laughed, though cut herself off as she turned her attention to the entertained men a short distance away from them. Ignoring them, the Hungarian drank from her wine cup. She smiled as Mathias was able to bring up his own conversation - she remembered how awkward he felt when he 'reunited' with her and stayed over for lunch. _He's getting used to me,_ Elizaveta thought gladly. "I'm not that gullible to believe that the dish is going to be like _that_," Elizaveta chuckled. "And that's probably the stupidest question I've ever been asked. I'm loving Copenhagen right now." She, too, noticed his table manners and grinned. _A gentleman when he wants to be..._

* * *

Mathias chuckled, flashing the Hungarian another grin. "Well, I guess I can't help but ask stupid questions. But I'm glad to hear that." He took another sip from his wine glass before continuing. "To be honest, it's hard _not_ to brag. But, I'll refrain." He softly laughed again, this time taking a napkin and placing it in his lap as a different server came by with a basket of bread, placing it on the table with a smile before leaving to assist the next table.

"So, what do you want to do after dinner?"

* * *

Elizaveta laughed along with the Dane, also unfolding the professionally wrapped napkin to set onto her lap. She watched a hand come into her field of vision to give them bread and grabbed one for herself, taking a small bite out of it as silence came upon the two nations. Gulping, the Hungarian cocked her head to the side slightly, then wore an expression that showed that she was thinking. "_Is_ there anything to do after dinner?" she wondered, though lowered her voice to a somewhat dark tone, "Aside from drinking." _I'm not willing to let that happen again here._

* * *

Mathias also grabbed a piece of bread, take a bite out of before setting it down in a small plate. He finished chewing and swallowing before answering her question. The Dane couldn't help but throw the Hungarian a smirk at her comment. _Of course._ Mathias leaned back again, pondering himself. "Could get some ice cream. Tivoli does fireworks. Could hit up a club. Could see some more street and live performances. Could check out my city home." He shrugged. "Up to you."

* * *

"Lively at night? It sounds much like Budapest," Elizaveta answered, "though I'm not surprised to hear that coming out of you. I can imagine you being a party type of guy." She realized that she had not yet responded to Mathias' question properly and returned to thinking. "I guess we could walk around and see more street performances and watch the fireworks from Tivoli; unfortunately, I'm not in the mood to do the greatest things right now." _Waking up late seriously kills everything._ "Then we could head over to your Copenhagen home." The Hungarian took another bite from her bread, chewing without rushing to savor the taste. _...This is incredible bread._

* * *

Mathias laughed at her comment. "Party type of guy? Yeah, that describes me pretty well." He listened to what the Hungarian had to say and nodded. "I understand. We woke up terribly late." He glanced at his watch. _It's already past 8:00 PM._ "And sounds good to me." He continued eating the bread, finishing up the piece he had. He took a sip of wine to help wash it down and then let his gaze drift to out the window. The sight of the boats smoothly bobbing up and down every so slightly in the mainly calm water was relaxing, along with the candlelight and murmur of the other patrons mixed with jazz music that the restaurant was playing.

A third person appeared at their table. "Hello! I am one of the chefs, and I have brought you your dinner." He pushed the bread to the side and set a large dish in the center of the table, and a clean plate in front of Mathias and another in front of Elizaveta, After telling them the details of the dish and how its creation came to be, the chef smiled at the both of them. "Enjoy your meal!" He turned around and left. The Dane motioned to the Hungarian after he left.

"Go ahead, eat all you'd like." He himself took a portion of the food onto his own plate, slowly nibbling on each forkful before eating the rest.

* * *

The Hungarian finished eating up her bread first before engulfing more wine down her throat. She paused in the middle of her drinking to see if it was having any effects on her - her brain seemed _relatively_ normal (she could tell that it was slightly off, but alcohol is alcohol, and it'll affect her one way or another), she wasn't wobbling for sure, and she still had her sanity. _Good,_ Elizaveta thought, nodding in approval of herself.

Yet another employee came along and hooked Elizaveta's attention. She peered up at the man and listened closely and respectfully to his explanation of the dish the chef cooked for them. Reciprocating a smile, the Hun also waited until the man left until she murmured, "He certainly looks happy. I guess you guys have a good reason to be the happiest people in the world."

Elizaveta nodded to Mathias' invitation and placed her desired portion onto her plate, though didn't snag too much, again not feeling too hungry because of her disorganized eating schedule. After taking a cautious bite, the Hungarian evaluated the dish; it was much different than what she was used to eating, but at the same time, the balance of the various ingredients satisfied her tastebuds, even more than the wine. Her face increasingly brightened after every chew and, after swallowing, Elizaveta brought her napkin up to her mouth as she stared at the Danish masterpiece. "This is amazing!"

* * *

Mathias softly chuckled at Elizaveta's response. "We just enjoy being happy. Better to look at the brighter side of life than to always get depressed. How else do you think I've become so successful?" The Dane took another small sip of wine, evaluating it. _She really did bring us the best wine they had. I wonder how aged it is..._ Mathias continued to eat as the Hungarian did so, but smirked at her exclamation.

After swallowing his latest mouthful, he wiped his mouth with the napkin before grinning at her. "Well, it's not called the best restaurant in the world for nothing!" The Viking also wasn't feeling particularly hungry-hence why he ordered a dish to share. He managed to finish off what was left on his plate before taking a second helping, leaving enough for Elizaveta to also have a second helping if so desired. "Go on. Enjoy it while you can."

* * *

No longer held back by her lack of hunger, Elizaveta took advantage of Mathias' gentle urging and finished her first portion at a slightly faster rate before transferring the last of the dish to her plate. The pleasure she received from the food had overpowered her lack of hunger; she was more willing to eat more than she wanted and needed to just to make her taste buds happy. Without a word, Elizaveta rapidly - yet still mannerly - took down the plate, occasionally interrupting herself to drink from her cup of wine, and finally finished the meal. She found herself staring at the now vacant plate, frowning.

"I should have saved some of this for another day," Elizaveta uttered to herself though somewhat to Mathias. "I'll be craving for more sometime soon. Though...I could order another dish and take it with me, can't I?"

* * *

Mathias finished off his plate fairly quickly and watched the Hungarian enjoy the rest of the meal. _She really does like it._ The Dane couldn't help but smile, and then laughed at her question.

"Of course you can. I don't see the harm in that." He waved a waiter over, who gladly took the now empty platter and plates from them. Mathias quipped something in Danish to the man, who nodded, grinning, and ran off to the kitchen. He then looked back to Elizaveta, smiling. "He'll bring something boxed up and ready to go." He leaned back once again, holding and inspecting the wine glass before slowly finishing it. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, feeling the alcohol seep through his body. _Thankfully it's wine. Not too strong._

The waiter returned after several minutes with a stiff rectangular box with beautiful yet simple designs covering it, and noma printed across the top. "Please, enjoy. Could I treat you two to dessert?" Mathias looked to Elizaveta, signaling it was up to her.

* * *

Elizaveta smiled at Mathias in thanks for his help; she, however, couldn't help but to frown slightly when the Dane had spoken to the waiter in his own language. _Who knows, he could be scheming something behind my back...or rather, in front of me._ Once the employee headed off, the Hungarian distracted herself once more by gazing through the window. Instead of seeing some kind of shade of red and orange, the sky shut away its lights for the day, making the city dependent on an alternate source for light for the night. _Time sure does fly, even if we woke up late._

Elizaveta perked up in surprise as a new, fresh scent entered her nose. _Fast service - always a good thing when it comes to restaurants._ She made eye contact with the waiter and nodded, "Sure." Her eyes then looked at Mathias to ensure that he approved and to signal to him that he pick a dessert.

* * *

The waiter turned to Mathias, seeing as he was the one to order, and handed him the dessert menu. The Dane blinked and scanned over the small pamphlet, wondering what on earth to order. He finally looked back up the waiter. "The _llebrd_ with frothed milk and _hrringur_, please." The waiter nodded, smiling, taking back the dessert menu before once again disappearing. Mathias glanced out the window, admiring the lights of the boats and nearby buildings being all that lighted up the area.

He turned back to the Hungarian. Mathias found himself staring at her a bit too long-_is it the wine?_-and shook his head. He absentmindedly poured himself another glass of wine and took a sip. He was about to start a conversation when a different staff member returned, with two bowls, In one there seemed to be a mix of fruit, strained yogurt and porridge. In the other there seemed to be simply another type of porridge. "Enjoy!" The waiter left the two alone to their dessert.

Mathias pointed to the bowl that had the mixture of fruit. "That's actually an Icelandic dish." He pointed to the other one. "And that's Danish. It's a porridge made of a special kind of bread and beer-don't worry though, the beer is minimal." He gestured for the Hungarian to take the first bites.

* * *

Elizaveta watched the waiter fulfill their request yet again, her eyes following the waiter and eventually landing on the window that displayed the chefs at work. _I wonder if they ever get tired of going back and forth like that? It must be commitment._ The Hungarian knew that she would definitely get tired from doing so, but she highly understood why waiters became waiters and stayed with that job.

As their dessert was given to them, Elizaveta inspected the dessert at first, curious of what was in there from appearance. She was glad that Mathias decided to point out the various ingredients to each bowl, almost as if he knew what she wanted to know. "Ah, I see," Elizaveta nodded in comprehension, then chuckled. "And don't worry, I'm fine with some beer." Once again taking Mathias' offer, the Hun honored herself with a spoonful of each dessert and hummed in delight as she leaned back against her chair.

* * *

Mathias smiled, and waited for Elizaveta to taste both desserts. Seeing her reaction, he softly laughed. "I guess you approve, then?" He himself picked up a spoon and took a bite of each, savoring the taste of desserts he hadn't had in some time, especially the Icelandic dish. _We always had to bug Valdi to ever give us some of this..._ Mathias took a few more bites before leaving the rest for Elizaveta.

He leaned back against his chair, sighing as he wiped his mouth with the napkin and neatly placed it on the table. He observed the Hungarian as she finished off the desserts. _Good job, Mathias. You didn't screw up this time._ He mentally kicked himself. _Don't jynx it. _

This time when a waiter came by to check on them, Mathias took out the envelope that contained the free dinner for two passes and handed it to him. The waiter quickly looked over it, smiled in understanding, and tucked the passes away in his apron pocket. "Well, if you two are done, may I escort you to our lounge, where you can enjoy some coffee before taking your leave for the night?" Mathias nearly forgot how much food they fed patrons at the restaurant, and couldn't help but chuckle. He looked at Elizaveta. "Want to?"

* * *

Noticing that the Dane had ceased eating before the dessert was finished, Elizaveta figured out that Mathias chose to give her the remaining part of the course. She happily and willingly ate it; it wasn't until after she slipped the last spoon in her mouth that she discovered that her stomach was in the mood for something to digest. _After all that, you're still hungry?_ Elizaveta laughed aloud, but quickly stopped herself before Mathias thought she was becoming affected by the wine or beer.

When the waiter arrived at their table and told them about yet another part of the dinner, the Hungarian nearly dropped her spoon to the table, but managed to recover her grip on it, in which the spoon only swung from an upward to downward position. Her eyes sparked as she returned Mathias' look, smiling brightly. "Of course!" Her expression then changed to a frown as she forget to consult the Dane. "Only if you're okay with it, though."

* * *

Mathias smiled at the Hungarian. "Sure, I don't have a problem with it." He nodded to the waiter. The Dane got up and waited for Elizaveta to follow suit. He picked up the box of food to go, which was placed in a bag, using his other hand to assist Elizaveta to her feet and lead her to the lounge. The waiter beckoned them and walked to a side of the restaurant, and then went under an open archway. The room they now found themselves in contained comfortable couches and glass coffee tables, all nestled around a warm fireplace. The waiter gestured to an extremely cozy looking loveseat, placed so that it face the fireplace.

"Please, take a seat. We will be back with the coffee shortly." Smiling, the waiter left under the archway. The only other people in the room was a group of five men, who sat in a circle in the opposite corner of the lounge, softly conversing. _Were those the drunk guys from before?_ Mathias thought. He pushed it away as he allowed the Hungarian to sit down first, then sitting next to her. He felt himself sink slightly into the sofa. _This is comfortable._

Ada now entered the lounge, holding two mugs and platters, setting down one in front of each of the two Europeans. "There is your coffee. We have already added the creamer and sugar, but if you would like more, there is plenty." She waved to a bowl set on the coffee table. "As your payment has already been taken care of, feel free to leave whenever you wish. I hope you enjoyed your evening with us and will return shortly." Smiling, she nodded to the both of them before leaving.

Mathias lazily reached forward to snatch his cup of coffee, allowing himself to fall back against the chair. "Feeling full yet?"

* * *

Excited, Elizaveta snatched hers and Mathias' jacket before rising and leaving their table to enter the lounge; there was an even more cozy air here than in where their dining table was. The flickering from the fire caught her eyes, its orange glow pleasing her as well as the soft sizzling of the wood comforting her ears. The deep murmurs of the drunk men in the other corner somewhat worried her, but since they appeared to be preoccupied, Elizaveta shrugged the concern aside. Without waiting for the Dane, the Hungarian plopped down onto the sofa, immediately noticing the quality of the piece of furniture. _It's been used before, but it's not that worn out,_ she observed. _Very impressive._

"Thank you, Ada," Elizaveta murmured with a smile as the woman brought in their coffee. "I'm sure that I'll come back again." She lifted the nearly full mug to her lips and gently blew at the surface, watching the ripples rush away from her mouth before carefully sipping the drink. The Hun felt Mathias relax against the couch from where she sat and moved the cup of coffee away from her to reply to him. "Not too much," Elizaveta admitted. "You seem bloated, though."

* * *

Mathias stared at his mug, waiting for it to cool before taking a sip. Softly laughing, he placed one hand on his stomach. "Yeah, actually. Whenever I wake up late, I don't end up eating that much." His eyes wandered over to the Hungarian. "You, however, seem to be a bottomless pit, all while keeping a good figure. How do you do it?" He shook his head, and took another sip of the coffee. _Mixing alcohol with caffeine. Wonderful._ He thought he was feeling the beginning of a headache in the back of his head, but it seemed to disappear.

"Well, if you're still hungry, we can snatch something on the way back to the car. We should be able to catch some street performances too." Mathias then nearly dropped his mug when he looked out the large window in the lounge. He pointed towards it, and like magic, the lights in the lounge extinguished, leaving only the light of the fire. From the window, fireworks could be seen decorating the sky. The Dane sighed, enjoying the sight, and couldn't help but steal a glance at Elizaveta. _Beautiful._

* * *

The Hungarian, luckily, was used to this kind of flattery, and simply chuckled from his words rather than become embarrassed from them. "Thank you, but I'm not too sure myself," Elizaveta admitted with full honesty. She took down another small gulp of her coffee after letting it cool with a few more cold breaths of air. "And I'll be fine, really - you've treated me too well already. Plus, I think I'm eating more than I should be tonight."

Elizaveta was also close in releasing her own mug from witnessing Mathias' near-accident and from the dimming of the lights. She followed the Dane's arm only to view neon colors bursting out of nowhere in the sky that attacked the darkness every few seconds; a wide smile came upon her face. The fireworks reminded her of the festivities held in her capital every once in a while, with the Hungarian children watching the rare event in awe and the night alive with her people. Her gaze never left the window until the fireworks died away; she sighed heavily and audibly. "It's been too long since I've really enjoyed myself."

* * *

Mathias traced circles on his mug as he held it, looking at Elizaveta as she enjoyed the last of the fireworks. The lights had remained dim, and the Dane couldn't help but be entranced by the sparkle of the Hungarian's green eyes, which reflected the moon. He himself couldn't help but sheepishly grin at her comment, relaxing again in the loveseat.

"I think I can say the same." After a few moments, the Dane quietly murmured. "Thank you, Elizaveta." He began drinking the coffee again, and soon finished the mug. He placed it back on the table and stretched, enjoying the comfortable atmosphere. Mathias waited for the Hungarian to finish, though enjoying the view of her from the light of the flames.

* * *

Elizaveta turned her eyes to Mathias as the Dane thanked her - she was somewhat stunned by his words. The way he enunciated her complete first name - the fact that he said her name out - hit her harder than it should have. _He's...thanking me? I guess Vikings aren't so bad after all._ A blush crept onto her face without her notice as yet another smile locked her lips. "You're very welcome, and thank you. I'm really happy that you accompanied me for so long; I'm probably just annoying to you now, aren't I?" Elizaveta chuckled with uncertainty. She was getting nervous, and the Hungarian could tell; her hands cupped her coffee mug with tensed muscles and swooshed the mug back and forth in circles much like a washing machine.

Realizing that her tongue had enough coffee, the nation set down her cup on the table and nodded to Mathias to indicate that she was finished, standing back onto her feet and gathering her clothes and Mathias' jacket. "Whenever you're ready," Elizaveta told the Dane, trying to break the awkward atmosphere she created.

* * *

Mathias stared at Elizaveta for a while at her words. He noticed her blush, and couldn't help but feel a sly smile appear on his lips. The Dane got up, stretching once more, arms above his head. He then turned and walked up next to the Hungarian, and quietly laughed, locking eyes with her. "No," He shook his head. "You're not annoying at all. I'm probably being the annoying one." He then absentmindedly brushed some of the Hungarian's hair to the side, so it didn't cover her face. "Stop beating yourself up all the time."

Mathias then gently grabbed the Hungarian's hand to lead her out of the restaurant. He gave a final goodbye to the manager at the front, who said a great many "Thank You"s as the two departed. The Dane then walked down the street from where they had come. Turning the corner, the following street was strangely quiet. _Odd._ However they made it back to the pedestrian walkway they were on earlier, which still bustled with people, who were entering and leaving shops, pubs, and clubs. A street performer nearby was playing an enticing ballad on his guitar, entrancing all those who stood nearby.

* * *

Elizaveta was once again surprised by the Dane; his eye contact was unusually startling and his hand skimming her face sent a wave of goosebumps, but at the same time a rush of relief, down her body. A smile decorated her face again, her lips parting to answer him, but was then led off. Adapted to Mathias snatching her hand, Elizaveta caught up with his walking pace, ambling alongside with him and unaware of how much the two appeared to be a couple.

She found herself to be on the street that Mathias had took her down earlier - it seemed much livelier at night than during the day. The distant guitar strums drew her greatly to the music it played, her heart seeming to beat at the same tempo it did. Elizaveta paused in the middle of her steps to listen, and her eyes closed as nostalgia seemed to fill her.

However, something disrupted her peace - close by, several loud men laughed and chattered in quick Danish, their voice swiftly crescendoing. Her eyelids flew upon to glance around, and realized that the three men were approached her. _They're those guys from that pub when we just came,_ Elizaveta thought, bracing herself. The mens' eyes didn't leave her and stood closer to her than she would have liked them to.

"Aren't you Hungary?" one of them questioned, not caring if the people around him turned to stare. "What'cha up to here in Denmark, shouldn't you be with your little hubby?" The three men burst into laughter at the same time, exchanging mischievous glances; Elizaveta sent them a glare in return, showing that she would not back away from them.

* * *

_**A/N:**_

_Argh, don't like this cut off again..._

_**xNeyu: **I told **Amerzt** about how, during that game (...which I just lost), I could imagine that Hungary could take too long to find the ball and Denmark would get bored, look around, and eventually look above him and up Hungary's dress, and...xD Yeah, you can imagine what happens next._

_Also, that restaurant - we want to go there. ( YOU LUCKY COPENHAGEN PEOPLE.) What the fanfic/roleplay says about the restaurant is true, or most of it, at least: they're so famous and popular that they're booked for the next few months and you have to book for like August or something in June. xD The wait is that bad, but the food is apparently that good. Luckily, in the RP, we managed to find a way to sneak past that. 8D -clever-_

_Have fun with this cliffhanger. C:_


	18. Chapter 17

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 17**

* * *

Mathias had allowed Elizaveta's hand to slip out of his own as she paused and listened to the guitarist. He looked to her, and had to do his best to tear away his gaze. _She looks so...peaceful._ The Dane had put his hands into his pockets again and turned his attention to the street, wondering if there were any other street performers that the Hungarian may be interested in, but it was difficult to see as crowds usually surrounded the performers.

Mathias decided to wait till Elizaveta was done listening to the guitarist or until he finished his ballad, whichever came first. _Probably the latter._ He himself enjoyed the tune the guitarist played-that is, until it was interrupted by laughter. A kind of laughter that the Dane knew all too well. He turned to see the three approaching men, and his eyes darkened as they addressed Elizaveta. He felt the others turning to look as well, and the guitarist stopped playing upon hearing the nation's name. There was some murmuring in the crowd, and after Mathias swept a glance over who was there, he took a couple of steps so that he was next to the Hungarian.

"Is that any way to talk to a nation?" His voice had a sinister edge to it. He was thankful that he was taller then all three men, and sent a burning glare at them. "Learn some respect."

* * *

The 'leader' of the trio laughed cockily and displayed his teeth in a wide smile as a crowd began to circle around them, though from a meter or so away. Elizaveta knew, for sure, that he was drunk, but at the same time, he still seemed aware of what he was doing. The same applied to the other two men. The Danish man answered with a tone similar to Mathias': "Who said that I couldn't be friendly to a fellow European lady?" His friends snickered and took a step forward, challenging both Mathias and Elizaveta. His hand rose to reach out for the Hungarian's head. "After all, no man can resist this face-"

A slap echoed through the air; the Hun had knocked away the drunkard's arm harshly, sending his arm flinging back. _Does he even know that he's also messing with Mathias?_ The man flinched, but wasn't frightened by her actions and whistled in interest. "And she's no ordinary woman, either!"

"An added a bonus," his companion chuckled.

"Quite so," the first continued, "but it looks like she's armed with a bodyguard; oh, quickly, run away, run away!" His sarcasm was enough to get his group howling in laughter again. He eyed the taller man in front of him. "But chill, Mathias, we're not going to hurt her..."

_So they do know._

* * *

_Oh, those dirty little fuckers. _

If Mathias wasn't upset before, he was now fully outraged. He could see that the three men were drunk, but not to the point where they would accidentally treat the nations like any human being. Mathias took a step forward, now standing in front of the Hungarian, blocking her from any further movements of the three men.

"_You_ have no right to refer to me by my name. And absolutely _no right_ to touch her." He hissed. The Dane crossed his arms, standing erect as he continued to glower at the men. "In fact, I think at this point you aren't even worthy of being my people."

The third man grinned foolishly. "Oh, come on, we're just messin' arouuund. We said we ain't gonna hurt her. Besides, what are you two doing together, _hmmmm_?" He snickered, exchanging glances with the other men, who also cackled. Mathias didn't flinch as he replied almost instantly, his voice cold and hard.

"We were having a cultural exchange. She wished to know more about Danish culture, I'm showing her. Because unlike you pesks, we have to keep the peace going between nations. Want another World War on your hands? I'll make sure that you're drafted into the front lines of the army." The Dane sneered. He wouldn't take having these three guys fool around with Elizaveta, or any woman, for that matter.

* * *

Worried murmurs arose from the crowd as Mathias brought up the topic of World Wars - they knew well about the last one they went through, and weren't too happy with another possible one. Elizaveta glanced at the witnesses around her, detecting their concerns. She then locked her fierce glare at the suspicious men, the leader returned a dirty look, and wished that Mathias hadn't stepped in front of her. "I can take care of myself," she whispered to the other nation.

"_Hahahahaha!_ There's no way something like this can start a war - it's just a small confrontation," the leader replied, obviously not affected by Mathias nor Elizaveta. He sent each of his friends a look, which happened to signal them to move away from him and slowly circle the nations. "And seeing that she's a foreigner, it'd be nice to have a chat with her to know more about her..."

Suddenly, the other two men made a quick dash after Elizaveta - however, the Hungarian happened to be much swifter than both of them, managing to grab a hold of one of the two attackers and tossing him at the other. The men yelped and collapsed onto the ground, rolling towards the circle of pedestrians (who took extra steps back to not get involved). The leader whistled again, impressed. "Golly damn. That's one wonderful girl you've got there, Matt."

Elizaveta examined herself, making sure that the predators didn't harm her. Confirming that she was safe, her neck stretched a bit to show off her icy Hun stare. "Are you asking for your turn?" Her voice gave off the _don't mess with me_ vibe, scaring even a few people nearby her.

* * *

"I know you can," Mathias whispered back. "I just can't stand them trying to touch you." The Dane also heard the concerned murmurs, knowing very well that not one of his people would ever wish to relive those horrifying moments of the past.

Mathias kept his eyes locked on the leader of the trio. "No, this won't. But the fact that people like you exist? Yeah, you're the ones that screw the world over." He stayed still when he saw the two men circling them, though his eyes glanced to either side before locking on the leader again. At the man's comment, the Dane couldn't help but laugh sinisterly. As if on cue, Elizaveta had managed to knock the other two men down in a simple movement. Mathias stepped to the side, allowing once again the Hungarian and the drunk to be fully visible to each other.

"Want to get to know her?" He smirked. "Well then, _be my guest_." The Viking knew that the Hun could pummel any of the men to the ground. The other two men had managed to scramble to their feet, groaning. They now seemed a bit intimidated by the Hungarian, but rejoined the other man, acting as if nothing had just happened. Mathias whispered so only the other nation could hear: "Unless they do something really bad, it won't be good if I do anything to them. But I will end up doing something, at this rate. However, feel free to do what you'd like with them right now."

* * *

"Alright, that sounds good," Elizaveta answered Mathias with a normal voice, smirking. "Really - I can handle this." Her demeanor further scared away several more people around her, but they stayed put as to see what would become of the three men. The Hungarian stepped forward, as if to invite the entire group. The leader cocked an eyebrow, amused, and motioned to his allies with a simple gesture of his hand. They seemed to understand right away what he wanted.

"Well then," the leader started, rolling up his sleeves, and also stepped forward, "I guess this is-"

Elizaveta didn't waste her time - she dove in to grab his neck and hurled him to the ground with a mighty swing of her arm. The leader, completely off guard, had no chance to make his move and slightly bounced off of the tiled ground beneath him from so much force, injecting pain into his head and back to the point where we was too numbed to do anything. It took him a few seconds to see if he was still alive and to absorb what was going on around him - his friends were frozen in apprehension and Elizaveta's foot pinned him to the floor, her boot alone choking his neck. The man began to gurgle for air, his eyes wide in terror.

"I'm pretty sure you'll die in World War III," Elizaveta uttered dangerously, her eyes shooting a look at the other two Danes before fixing them at the man below her, "seeing that you're already weak as it is. Just to warn you and your dear friends in the future - don't mess with a Hun."

The leader's hands slowly rattled up to his face to beg for mercy, but the Hungarian refused to release him so soon. She turned her head to face the Viking nation behind her, smiling as if to say, _I told you._

* * *

Mathias simply watched, a smug expression on his face as he saw Elizaveta throw the leader of the trio to the ground. _Is it bad that I'm turned on by this?_ He shook his head to get rid of the thought, now seeing that the Hungarian had pinned the man to the ground. There was a mix of excited and worried murmurs and whispers in the crowd, the on-lookers staring in amazement that they got to witness a nation in action. Some seemed full of fear as they observed the female nation. Mathias was able to catch a whisper: "And I thought _Denmark_ was the only one like that..."

The Viking caught the Hun's smile, and quietly laughed. _Tenacious as ever._ Smirking, the Dane walked up next to the Hungarian, peering down at the beaten man. The other two men tried to get away, but Mathias was way ahead of them and snatched both of them by their collars, lifting them slightly off the ground. "Well, wasn't that fun, kids? Now, I think all three of you owe someone an apology."

* * *

Elizaveta watched Mathias make his way over to her as the man beneath her fruitlessly struggled to remove the Hungarian's foot off of him. Once Mathias stood beside her, Elizaveta lifted her leg, shook her foot, and kicked away the man's hands, then distanced herself between the terrified trio. The leader remained on the floor, quivering in fear, before he processed Mathias' words and flung himself back onto his own feet. He was about to grab Elizaveta's hand to place an apologetic kiss on it, but remembered his consequences and simply bent to one knee, bowing. His comrades mimicked him.

"I'm very sorry," the leader muttered, embarrassed. His friends also barely managed to get out a timid 'sorry'. "Please, don't hurt or kill me; I'll be good from now on." He then faced Mathias, this time wearing a serious and possibly even grave expression. "_Undskyld._" Again, the other two men imitated his actions. The three men rose, the leader nodding to the two nations before beckoning his followers to leave with him. The crowd around then slowly dispersed, a few actually stealing a photo of them before returning to what they were doing.

Elizaveta sighed, slinging Mathias' jacket around her shoulder as she noticed that her skin was rather cold. "That was a surprise...we should leave before we catch anyone else's attention."

* * *

Mathias coldly gazed at the three men, and nodded in response. He watched the three dash off, and let out a sigh. _If I ever see those three again..._ The Hungarian's suggestion called his attention back to her. Glad that the crowd was dispersing, he nodded. "Agreed." He flashed the Hun a smile before he began walking. "Though, someone would have to be an idiot to try and attempt anything after seeing that."

Mathias was tempted to hold the Hungarian's hand again, but decided to refrain, since now a good number of people knew who the two of them were. They soon made it back to the parking garage and reached the Dane's car. He opened the door for Elizaveta once again. "Next stop: my city home."

* * *

Elizaveta chuckled with a hint of nervousness before heading off to the garage. She began to wonder if many of Mathias' people recognized her, just as the three men did - most didn't seem to realize that she was roaming around Copenhagen, but it still concerned her. _If Mathias came to Budapest...he would definitely look familiar, especially with that height of his. Unless he's lucky._

The Hungarian frowned as Mathias was behaving too gentlemanly for her. She walked up to the door, but remained standing there for a few seconds before ruffling the Dane's hair for no apparent reason and climbing into the car seat. While buckling herself, Elizaveta realized how tired she felt. _That's weird...is it because of the food? No, it was probably because of the guys that came up to us..._ Her head limped slightly, her eyelids twitching once in a while, begging to shut as her thoughts began to wander aimlessly.

* * *

"_Hey!_" Mathias laughed after the Hungarian decided to mess with his hair. He ended up staring at her for a bit too long as she settled herself into the car, and snapped back to attention upon hearing the seatbelt snap into place. Shutting the door, he jumped into the driver's seat and started up the engine. He was feeling fatigue catch up, and promptly turned on some techno to keep him awake. He would have played rock, but wasn't sure if the Hungarian would be in the mood for it, as she looked terribly tired.

"It should only take about ten minutes." The Dane backed out and soon they left the parking garage, turning onto the street. His body, used to traveling to his city home, seemed to operate on its own as he relaxed against the car seat. He stole a glance at Elizaveta, who seemed to be relaxing herself.

* * *

Elizaveta's head swiftly rolled from limping on her shoulder to lying on the headrest. She blinked a few times to clear her temporarily blurred vision, then mumbled. "Oh...alright." Even after her vision returned to normal, Elizaveta's eyelids seemed to droop immediately after her words. The Hungarian's eyes gradually closed on itself, though she wasn't too sure when - or if - she fell asleep. The techno music was faded in the background, though it never seemed to disappear completely.

Randomly, the Hungarian brought her arms up from her sides to around her stomach, lightly hugging the bag that carried her jacket. The smell of brand new clothing pleased her nose and seemed to cause her to drift off into half sleep. For reasons she didn't know, the memories with the Dane the past few days replayed in her head - from when they saw each other on that field, to cooking at her home, to roaming around in the castle, to..._that_ night. Her arms shuddered as if they had control of themselves, then embraced the bag a bit more, the bag letting out soft ruffling.

"Birds," Elizaveta uttered out of nowhere.

* * *

Mathias had been lost between concentrating on the road to his own thoughts that he couldn't push to the back of his head. _Here we are. What is this-the third day?_ He glanced now and then to the Hungarian, who he would have thought was asleep if it wasn't for her slight movements now and then. Mathias lowered the volume of the music a little bit, and turned onto a street.

He again was balancing between being focused and unfocused, his vision blurring now and then. _Dammit._ However, he snapped back to complete attention at Elizaveta's random outburst. Turning a corner once again, Mathias stiffened. _Birds?_ For some reason, the word brought back what the man in Tivoli had said. _Lovebirds._

"E-Eli. You okay?" He quietly asked, not wanting to possibly disturb her if she was actually just talking in her sleep.

* * *

Her brain seemed to galvanize from Mathias' voice. "Nnn, I'm awake," Elizaveta answered with a strangely clear tone of voice, but her eyes were still shut and her head and flopped to her left shoulder, indicating that she truly wasn't. Her sleepiness was still feeding off of her, though her ears continued to pick up the music humming from the speakers in the car. She wasn't sure what she heard anymore and her thoughts told her not to care.

The Hungarian's senses, without realizing it herself, seemed to drop into a black hole, seemingly obeying her thoughts. Her vision was completely black, her eyes helplessly staring at the darkness, until an image formed before her eyes. The image slowly began to move, transforming into a film - eventually, the film displayed a man standing in the middle of a gray and ash-ridden field, his back facing her direction. The man slowly and calmly turned around, in which a deep blue attire seemed to randomly appear on him, and revealed his stern face that focused on her. His lips began to move as words were spoken but not heard, and before she knew it, blood was scattered all over the man and smeared everywhere around him, turning gray into crimson red.

Elizaveta suddenly gasped once, her hand zipping up to her neck to protect it. Her eyes were in despair, but as she scanned her surroundings, the Hun felt her body relax and she sighed._It was just a dream._ Her hand withdrew from under her head and sat on her lap as she pondered about her nightmare. _...What was it about?_ She shook her head, disappointed that she wasn't able to remember, and looked up to see Mathias. _Oh, crap, I hope he didn't see that._

* * *

Mathias glanced at Elizaveta again. _She's ready to wipe out._ The Dane didn't respond, knowing that the Hungarian wouldn't be coherent enough anyway to speak. After what seemed like forever, he turned onto the main street his home was located. He kept driving down, as his house was at the end.

Mathias nearly jumped at the sound of her gasp. He was about to ask if the Hungarian was okay when he looked to see her relaxed. He decided to ignore it, not wanting to disrupt her current peace. _She must have fallen asleep and had a dream or something._ The Dane reassured himself.

He pulled up into the driveway of very modern looking house. Walls of windows were present in several places in the two-story home. He turned off the car and got out, pressing a button on his car remote that actually lit up the exterior lights of the home. Mathias went around to open the door for the Hungarian. He held out a hand. "Are you awake enough to walk?

* * *

Elizaveta watched for the Dane's reaction, but luckily he didn't seem too startled by it. She turned her head to gaze through the window in front of her as the back of her head pressed against the chair. Her eyes didn't droop this time. _I'm suddenly awake? I hate it when something like this happens…_

Eventually, the sight of a highly modernized home gradually appeared before her eyes - she never stopped staring at it until Mathias parked the vehicle and opened the door for her. Elizaveta nodded to the Viking's question and, even if she was fine moving on her own, she accepted Mathias' hand. "I am." Ironically, the woman stumbled a bit while sliding out of the car, but was easily able to recover her balance. _What is wrong with me?_ the Hun mused. Her hand gently shut the door, recalling that the Dane valued this machine, and Elizaveta stared at the lights of the home.

"I really hope that you stay here more often than in that castle," the Hungarian chuckled. "I can't imagine walking through that mansion every day."

* * *

Mathias noticed that the Hungarian suddenly seemed very awake, compared to how she was in the car before. _Effects of a power nap?_ He decided to ignore the fact and laughed at her comment.

"To be truthful, I think I do stay here much more often. I'm more of a city-life type of guy, y'know?" Chuckling, he didn't hesitate this time to continue holding the hand of the Hungarian, and led her up to the front door. He opened it with a swift motion of his key and they entered the home. The lights of the foyer automatically turned on, sensing someone in the room. The Dane closed and locked the door behind Elizaveta.

"Well...here it is." He took his jacket off of Elizaveta's shoulders, and along with his own hung it near the entrance.

* * *

Elizaveta surveyed the exterior of the home as she approached the stylish residency, not paying attention to their hands' grasps on each other. The Hungarian watched the Dane work around with the various devices, intrigued with the technology that was embedded in the wall, and entered the home. The scent she smelled her seemed much more new than the one back in Mathias' castle, but the Viking's unique scent still lingered within it. Her head leaned back as she turned around to her left and right, examining the details of the house.

"If I were you, I'd just live here forever," she laughed, finally facing Mathias.

* * *

Mathias watched the Hungarian inspect his home. At her comment, he laughed. "I wouldn't mind, really. But there's just so much attached to that castle I have to go back every now and then. I took you there first because it was closer to your home." He swung the keys around in his hand before hanging them on a smaller set of hooks.

The Dane then led her deeper into the house until they were at the other end. They now were present in what seemed to be a lounging room, with two of the walls made out of glass, forming two huge windows. The room had a very warm vibe, with laminated wooden floors and a mix of black, orange, red, and white. Mathias' house sat behind a lake, which sprawled out before them, the light of the moon causing the water to shimmer.

"I have to admit," He murmured. "This is probably my favorite part of the house. Even more than my bedroom. I end up falling asleep here half the time." Mathias was desperately trying to avoid silence, feeling slightly awkward that it was the two of them alone. In his home. At night. _Don't think about it..._

* * *

"Nostalgia, huh?" Elizaveta laughed as well. "I understand that. I'd probably do the same thing." She followed the Dane, walking deeper into the house; the room that Mathias led her into did cause her to receive a welcoming atmosphere, the sets of furniture sitting around contributing to the greeting. Her eyes eventually wandered over t the window, looking beyond it only to set her eyes upon a lake - Elizaveta heaved out a steady breath, awe overwhelming her.

"Amazing," she whispered, then raised her voice to a normal volume. "It reminds me a lot of Lake Balaton." A smile adorned her face at the memory, pausing just to enjoy the thought. "I'm sure your room is just as impressive...but I could imagine why you'd love this room. I'd fall asleep right away if I sat down for even a second here any day." Elizaveta took her time to make her way over to the window, staring at the body of water under the soft white light emitting from the moon.

* * *

Mathias couldn't help but smile at Elizaveta's apparent awe. "You can never get enough of the water here." He laughed. "Lakes, the sea..." He shook his head. The Dane watched the Hungarian make her way up to the window, and eventually followed her, coming to stand beside her. He spoke softly: "It's a nice place to escape to, that's for sure." He stole a quick glance at Elizaveta before bringing his eyes back to the window, staring at the lake. Ripples across the surface of the water could be seen forming now and then as leaves from surrounding trees descended upon it, causing the lake to shimmer and glow even more in the light of the moon.

The surrounding area also glowed with a magical feel, the soft white moonlight highlighting various aspects. The lounge room lights were quite dim, allowing the moonlight to penetrate through the windows as well. He stole yet another glance at Elizaveta, and nearly caught his breath as he could see the moonlight dancing in her eyes, and ended up staring longer than he had meant to. _Dammit..._

* * *

"I like it though," Elizaveta said, watching the small waves on the lake ride across the surface. She again was reminded of Lake Balaton - it was her only lake, and the flower sleeping in her hair symbolized that body of water. "...Even if the sea reeks of salt and fish." Another soft laugh escaped her mouth and turned to face Mathias.

Her mouth opened to speak once again, but her lips froze, remaining ajar. Mathias was staring at her for whatever strange reason it was, and she happened to stare back with wonder. She debated whether to question him, but found his expression to be priceless and simply smiled at him. _My camera...if only..._ Elizaveta then left her spot next to the window and gazed at the hallways hiding in the corners of the room, wondering what the rest of the home looked like. She didn't want to request to take a small tour of this house as well, as she was against that whenever someone asked to explore her own home (it would put her in danger of people finding out about her stash of yaoi doujinshi), but questioned the Dane anyways. "Do you mind if you take me around your house?"

* * *

Mathias was caught off guard by her laugh, and even more so when she turned to face him. _Caught._ "Ah, but the sea also smells of adventure." He managed to get a laugh out and tore his gaze away from Elizaveta before it was permanently glued to her, though he ended up tracing her movement away from the window. He stretched and walked towards one of the hallways, not all too surprised by her request. "It's nothing big. But sure."

Beckoning her to follow him, he walked down the hallway, though turned quickly under an archway that opened up to a kitchen and dining room. Another full glass wall was found here, though part of it formed a nook, where the small table for four was located. Part of the table was white, the other black. The kitchen consisted of sleek black counters and silver appliances.

Mathias leaned against the counter of the kitchen. "Well, this one is obvious." He looked out the window, where the view this time was a garden and trees.

* * *

Elizaveta trailed behind the Dane, eager to venture through his house. Eventually, the two of them reached what was definitely the kitchen, with a dining table sitting nearby - the modern furniture surely gave out a modern feel, especially with the black, gray, and white color scheme. Her head turned to another window to look outside, but couldn't help but to think, _So many windows...he must like it when people watch and stalk him, just to show off his great lifestyle._

The Hun also locked her gaze on the garden, particularly the flowers, and wished that it was daytime so that she could admire the sea of colors from the petals of the plants. Since the darkness sucked the light spectrum away from the flowers and trees, Elizaveta lost interest and rubbed the kitchen counter, feeling the material it was made out of.

"Don't you live like a prince?" Elizaveta chuckled, grinning.

* * *

Dane smirked at Elizaveta's question, also letting out a laugh. "Of course. I was-and technically still am-a King after all. Though Prince has a nice ring to it." His own hand smoothed over the counter, where on closer examination could be seen not to be jet-black, but contained a pattern. "Of course, all of this is made from recycled material. Never let a thing go to waste." He then pushed himself off of the counter and walked up to the window, giving it a little knock. _She must think I have too many of these..._

"And these windows? They're made so I can look out, but no one can look in." He laughed. "And bulletproof. You can never be too sure." The Dane glanced over to the Hungarian, who still seemed to be admiring the various furniture. "I wasn't joking when I said I have an eye for design." He grinned. "Copenhagen _is_ the design capital of the world, after all." He then began to walk again, going through a second archway, which was wider than the first, at one end of the dining area. A large television was hoisted on one end of the wall, a single long sofa across from it, with various other decorative pieces in the room. "I like to call this the 'news room'. It's mainly for morning-time watching, since it's right here by the kitchen." Mathias hoped his voice was remaining cool, not wanting to sound smug as he revealed his luxuries.

* * *

"Environmental? I like that," Elizaveta complimented him, her eyes not leaving him as he strode over to the window. _...I guess people can't stalk him after all. That means I can't do that either._ She frowned for a brief second before her lips formed a smile. "Those will come in handy someday - and probably have at some point." _He definitely has plenty of security in his house - I bet that he has cameras and bugs embedded in the walls that know when someone tries to rob his house and take care of the robber without Mathias needing to move a single bit._ "I'm not surprised to see that you have that title, Mathias. However, I refuse to refer to you as a King." The Hun smirked, hoping to see a reaction come out of the Dane.

She then arrived into the den - it was much like the kitchen, again with a grayscale color theme. Elizaveta realized that there was a pattern - even if the house was very big, there was little furniture in each room, making every section of the home rather spacious. It was a waste to leave such space vacant, but it was surely appealing to designers.

* * *

Mathias softly laughed. "They have come in handy. Quite handy." Hearing her remark about being King, he snickered, shooting her a look. "I expect that out of you, out of all people. But we'll see." He teased. He shook his head, and watched as the Hungarian entered the den, her eyes looking over and inspecting all that was to be found in the room. The Dane glanced to the clock. _Wow, it's late._ He lightly placed his hands on Elizaveta's shoulders and propelled her back through the kitchen to the hallway again. "There really isn't much else down here then a couple of bathrooms and a guestroom. And laundry and all that jazz." Walking back towards the entrance of the home, there was an indent in the wall, which revealed a staircase.

Mathias strode up the steps, waiting for Elizaveta at the top, and then turned into an opening on the left. A giant room revealed itself. On one side a variety of exercise equipment were to be found, including a bench with intimidating looking weights. On the other, however, lay several sofas and chairs, with an almost entire wall being covered with a screen. On closer observation, large speakers could be seen hidden in the walls, and several gaming systems were neatly organized along with what looked to be a DVD player.

"The game room. The only other room besides my bedroom on this floor." As he walked further into the room, a slight humming noise became audible, and the speakers started playing an electronic beat, the lights adjusting. The song soon became clearly heard, and along with techno beats a woman's voice could be heard singing. "..._and when the stars shine so bright, who wants to be alone? Don't take me home, till the sun comes up, till the sun comes up._" The Dane perked up, forgetting he had the particular setting on. He quickly walked to a panel in the side of the wall. "_I am going nowhere in a hurry. Baby, come take away all my worries._" Mathias quickly hit a pattern of buttons, and the volume of the music died down, so the song could still be faintly heard in the background. "_I'm out of my head, out of my head...Right next to me, you want to be, till the sun comes up..._"

"Sorry about that...I can't really live without my music." He awkwardly laughed. _Did it have to be that song out of all things? My luck..._

* * *

As she was further examining the living room in detail, Elizaveta felt her body move against her own will and out of her control, her shoulders significantly flinching; her feet reacted at first to remain stable in her place, but skidded reluctantly away from the room. However, the Hungarian began cooperating as Mathias led her up the stairs, veering around the corner to be shocked by a voluminous gaming room. Before she could even inspect what was there, music vibrated into her ears as she stared up at the ceiling, wondering where the song was coming from as she picked up the lyrics to the song. _This song...it doesn't fit Mathias for some reason._ Her gaze returned to the room as the volume was adjusted and she grinned timidly. "It's alright. I can't live without music either."

It took her a few seconds remember to examine, discover, and point out to herself the minute details of this part of the second story. A thought instantly popped up in her head, which she decided to say aloud, "I'm guessing that this is where you and the other Nordics relax whenever they come over?" She could imagine all five of them sitting on the sofas and chairs, rowdy and pumped up over some video game; in fact, Elizaveta began to hallucinate and saw four other semi-transparent figures moving about in the room, but then quickly shook her head, causing the bodies to disappear in the blink of an eye. The Hungarian cautiously walked inside, glancing at the exercise equipment as she passed them. "And I'm not even going to question about _those_," she murmured, laughing.

* * *

To Mathias' relief, the Hungarian didn't comment on the song. He returned to the Hungarian's side, nodding. "Yeah. Anyone for that matter. It's a chill out and have fun room." He laughed. Seeing her examine the workout equipment, he grinned. "Gotta keep up the body build somehow, y'know?"

To his additional relief, the song had changed, and due to errors in technology, the next song played a bit louder then he would have liked at the moment. This time it was a growling rock song. "_Du blutest __für__ mein Seelenheil, Ein kleiner Schnitt und du wirst geil._" The song was obviously in German, and it vibrated in the room. The Dane quickly tried to put the volume down again, allowing it to drop to a low level. "God damn it." He cursed at the panel. He was ready to just shut the thing off.

"Sorry...again." He combed a hand through his hair, frowning. "I really need to work out the kinks in some of these things." As if to tease the Dane, the lights flickered. _Great. Why does it have to screw up when I have someone over?_

* * *

Elizaveta enjoyed the warmth radiating off of Mathias' body as he stood beside her, smiling as he spoke. "Of course - can't be the best if you don't work out," she teased. Suddenly, the next song nearly blasted into her ears, contracting her muscles as a reflex. Again, her ears listened closely to the lyrics - and having an Austrian ex-husband who spoke German, Elizaveta understood well what the words meant. She frowned, then narrowed her eyes towards the flickering lights. "It's not that big of a deal. I just hope that you know what you're listening to there..."

The flashing started to irritate her eyes; Elizaveta hovered a hand to right above her eyes, almost as if to salute. Having nothing to do and feeling awkward just standing around, the Hun walked up to the Dane, peeking at the control panel. "Is the music affecting the light system?"

* * *

Mathias glanced at the Hungarian, remembering that she could understand German quite well. _Things are not going my way, tonight._ "I do," he muttered. "Though you can thank Gilbert for giving me this CD." The Dane placed his fingers on a touch pad on the panel, and shut off the music playing. The lights seemed to calm down, now resting at a dimmed setting. Mathias turned to look at the Hungarian and was a little surprised as that she was standing closer to him than he originally thought. "Looks like that's what it was." He sighed again. "It's always something about this room. Man, I need to get a technician in here."

Deciding it best to leave the room before the sofas started to come to life or some other bizarre event, Mathias motioned to Elizaveta and walked out, back into the hallway, which was more of a square with an open balcony overlooking the foyer of the first floor. The only other thing in sight was a set of two doors, closed. Mathias walked up to the doors and gently touched the doorknob, which caused a _click_ sound to be heard. He opened the doors, revealing another spacious room, though not as big as the other one. The walls of the room were jet black, contrasting with furniture containing red accents. Another large window lied behind the bed, though the curtains were drawn.

* * *

_Oh. Gilbert. Of course he would give something like that to Mathias. That explains everything._ Elizaveta stared at the panel, unaware that she had startled the Dane, and came up with a solution. "If you need a technician, you could ask Lili – you know, Liechtenstein? I know that she's very tech savvy. Maybe I could ask her to fix this for you." Elizaveta was impressed herself with that young, tiny girl – it really didn't seem as if she was a technology type of person, but apparently, she was.

Mathias' beckon was enough to get her to tail him. As she crossed the hallway, her curiosity made her look down beyond the open balcony, admiring the bird's eye view. Then Elizaveta's eyes darted over to Mathias' room and felt her heart give out one hard bump against her rib cages. _I feel...dirty for entering his room._ Trying her best to shove that emotion aside, her eyes widened as the room was unveiled; it was different yet so modern, and the red and black theme suited the Dane well.

"'Nothing exciting'? Are you _kidding_ me?" Elizaveta laughed, getting ahead of herself and roaming around his room with wonder gleaming in her irises. Her fingertips traced over his bed to identify the type of cloth used before her hand swept lightly across it, making sure she didn't wrinkle the bedsheets. _...I'm jealous._

* * *

"Lili?" The Dane thought of the small yet confident female nation. "Oh, that's right...I forgot she was tech-savvy. I should get her to look at it." He nodded, flashing a smile at the Hungarian.

Mathias followed the Hungarian into the room-_my room_-and watched her look around. He couldn't help but have a flash of memories play in his head, and he tried to shake it away. _So we're alone in my room. No big deal._ The wine from their earlier dinner seemed to want to tell him otherwise, but he did his best to ignore it. Mathias felt something stir in his chest when the Hungarian laughed, and he walked up next to her, observing her hand on his bed, though he couldn't help but feel a tingle down his spine as he saw her elegant fingertips trace the bed. _No dirty thoughts, no dirty thoughts..._

"Well, yeah it's nice and all. But, just a bedroom." He laughed. _There is only one exciting thing that can happen in one,_ he wanted to say, but spoke it mentally instead.

* * *

"You make your room sound like it's boring!" Elizaveta frowned, pouting slightly. She wasn't given a single hint about Mathias' unease. "I guess that's what happens when you stay in your house with the same furniture for too long...but I'd assume that your visitors make you feel better for your home?" She excitedly walked over to the window, almost even skipping towards it, in which the moonlight once again made her smooth skin glow palely. _This is gives a nice view of Copenhagen, too._

Elizaveta twisted her upper body around, turning to make eye contact with the Dane as her hands folded behind her back. "Does this sight of Copenhagen boost your ego?" she chuckled.

* * *

Mathias softly laughed, shaking his head. "I guess that is true. I'm used to it. But is it really that great?" The Dane observed the Hungarian happily make her way to the window. He caught himself staring at her again, and decided to walk over and open the curtains fully to get a proper view. The moonlight immediately infiltrated the room, signaling the lights to dim. He laughed again at her inquiry. He leaned against the bed frame, smirking. "Of course. Why wouldn't it?" He looked out the window to see the city lights dazzle the view, the moonlight only adding to the picturesque scene. "It's not my capital for nothing."

* * *

"I think it's better than my house, to be honest," Elizaveta admitted. She remained silent until the Dane moved the curtains out of the way, further whitening the Hungarian's face, and chuckled at his words. "Just don't get carried away with your self-love." Her eyes scanned the city that was now clearer to her, zipping back and forth between the various specks of light from the buildings that appeared so small from where she stood. The sea was viewable, too; she could easily make out the reflection of the moon on the surface of the water. Elizaveta closed her eyes and took a deep breath, imagining that she inhaled the scent of the sea - which somewhat worked.

Finishing her 'meditation' practice, Elizaveta glanced around for a clock. _What time is it?_ She was stunned to see that it was already midnight, but at 12 A.M., the night was still young in the eyes of adults - especially if they woke up late.

* * *

"Well, if you ever want to redesign your house, feel free to ask." He laughed. The Dane looked to the Hungarian again, who glowed in the moonlight. He could almost feel the touch of her soft skin as he thought about..._that_. Mathias continued to stare at her, watching as she closed her eyes._The moon does have it's strange effects._ He nearly felt intoxicated by the sight of the woman in front of him, taking advantage to soak her in as she relaxed.

The Dane was brought out of his daze when she opened her eyes again, and he followed her gaze to the clock. _Midnight. But I don't feel tired...we woke up late, after all._ Mathias brought his attention back to the Hungarian. "So..."

* * *

"I would love to," the Hungarian answered, hinting some sarcasm, "but I'm not letting my country and culture get influenced by you." She laughed as well, though was somewhat serious about her words. As much as she wanted a home just like this, Elizaveta knew better than to be selfish and waste money (or was it really squandering?) on remodeling her home.

Elizaveta turned to Mathias, responding to his attempt to start a conversation. She wondered at first what to talk about, but realized that she didn't do something important yet. "Oh, Mathias, I want to thank you for what you've done for me these last several days." A wide grin popped onto her face. "I'd really like to repay you - there's no way that I could get away with all of that and not do something in return." She paused to think of a way to make up for herself, but then came upon another realization. "And I met you so often these last few days; I hope you weren't too busy or anything. I'm planning to return home tomorrow."

But something inside her told her that she truly didn't want to go back, her heart yearning for something else. _This feeling again..._

* * *

Mathias dramatically acted as if he was stabbing himself in the heart. "Oh, such cruel words." He laughed. "Influence isn't always bad, y'know. But I get what you mean." _Besides,_ he thought, _I kinda like the homely feel of her house._

The Dane blinked as he listened to Elizaveta thank him. Something stirred in his chest again. _Thank me? You'd think I had just caused more problems..._ Hearing about her plan to return home, however, caused the Dane's heart to drop a little. _Oh no. These feelings again._ He still couldn't understand what it was that tugged at him. Suddenly feeling the silence, he spoke up. "Eli, Eli, Eli..." He shook his head. "You don't need to repay me. I've enjoyed your company as well." He sheepishly smiled at her. "I wasn't busy or planning to be busy, so it's fine."

Mathias realized he didn't know what to say about her returning home. He ended up stumbling over his words, and sounded weaker then he would have liked. "O-oh. Really?" He fished for something to say, but couldn't. In the end he just stared at her, his heart beating against his chest as if to tell him something.

* * *

The Hun smiled, but then found herself frowning. Elizaveta shook her head again, her hands waving beside her face to insist. "No, no, really, Mathias. I'd feel bad if I didn't return your favor. You've given me too many meals without me repaying you, you've housed me for two days, and you've taken me all over Copenhagen." She was doing her best to convince him as much as she could. "Isn't there something I should do?"

Then something seemed to punch her in the stomach; it seemed to be Mathias' stammer that had gotten to her. She stared into his saddened expression, his face nearly that like a whimpering dog's, and his somewhat depressed voice echoed in her head. There was one thing she wanted to mention, but she couldn't really touch upon it. Instead, she said, her own voice not as lively as before, "U-Um, yes. I mean, you can't spend your time with me _that_ often, right?" Elizaveta painfully knew that she wanted the opposite of what she was saying. "Plus, wouldn't you want to go back to Berwald and Tino and all those other nations sooner or later?"

* * *

Mathias listened to Elizaveta's stubborn words. _Something she should do? Yes, a number of things. Like_-The Viking mentally punched himself. _Goddamit Mathias, snap out of it._

But it was impossible to do so. Mathias averted his gaze, looking towards the ground. "They're always busy doing their own things anyway." He mumbled. "It's not like I spend that much time with them." He detected the change in the Hun's voice. His eyes were trying to force him to look back at Elizaveta, but he managed to continue staring downwards. The Dane sighed, wanting to say several things to the Hungarian in that moment. But he was at a loss of words. "Of course, I guess you'll be wanting to go home after all this time..." He trailed off again.

* * *

Elizaveta stared at Mathias disbelievingly. _But..._ "Aren't you always with them? Don't they have fun whenever you're around?" She remembered that conference, long long ago, when Elizaveta was frustrated with politics and the Nordics were acting rowdy before the meeting started; they had irritated her then, only because she was in a bad mood, but she clearly recalled that they were enjoying themselves. However, Mathias, here, seemed...different, in a sense? Or maybe he just didn't want to be lonely. _Oh...that's right, he won't have someone to be with if I'm and the other Scandinavian countries are gone._ Her heart tried to convince her otherwise, but the message still didn't seem to get through.

"It's not that I'm sick and tired of being around you," Elizaveta told him honestly, her own eyes turning gloomy just from gluing her eyes to his sorrow face for too long. Her anxiety was getting to her. "But...um..." The light bulb inside her head lit up. "If you're really not that busy...if you want to, you can come with me and I'll take you around Budapest." Her hands then instinctively grasped his, a smile lightening her face. "What happened to the 'happiest man on earth' whom I knew and still know?"

* * *

"We rarely hang out anymore. I don't know why but..." He trailed off again, shrugging his shoulders. "Everyone just got caught up in their own thing." Mathias realized he was losing his battle to sound indifferent. He shook his head, trying to clear up the many thoughts flying around in his head. _Why..._

The Dane felt a tingle run down his spine as his hands were grasped, the Hungarian's soft skin feeling warm and smooth with his. His eyes had widened, and her smile got to him. He still wasn't sure what exactly was nagging him, but the tugging on his heart was even stronger now. He finally managed to smile, snapping out of his daze. "That would be nice." He admitted. "I don't remember the last time I went to Budapest..." Her next words is what nearly made his heart froze. There was something...the way she said it, or maybe just the way it sounded to him, that caused a rush of a strange sensation throughout him.

He softly laughed. "Hey now, I'm allowed to have non-happy moments, as long as they're kept to a minimum." He leaned in, diminishing some space between the two. His heart had picked up slightly in speed as suddenly felt the taste of wine at the back of his throat. _So the wine's having an after-effect...or just a delayed reaction._ "And you're one of the few if the only who hasn't seemed to have gotten sick and tired of being around me. If you're being honest."

* * *

"Alright then, I'll refresh your memories," Elizaveta answered with confidence. The idea that sparked in her brain was definitely a good way to do something in return for Mathias. _Though, with all this modernization and technology, I don't think he'll be that impressed...it's better than nothing._ "If not, I'll give you memories."

Again, Elizaveta smiled, then released his hands to bind her own behind her back once more. His soft laugh, as well as his words, told her that he was snapping out of his solemn mood. She was happy that Mathias was a spirited man, or else she would be spending too much of her time trying to comfort him. Though she didn't entirely react to Mathias' closeness, a smirk flashed onto her face. "If I lied, the lie would be obvious," the Hungarian told him, then confirmed, "I'm serious, Mathias; your company is a pleasure to me."

* * *

"Give me memories, huh?" Mathias mused. _As if I don't have enough._ "Sounds good." The most he could remember of Budapest was what had been known among everyone-it was supposed to be a very beautiful city.

The Viking caught her smirk. He stared at her for a bit, absorbing her words. He leaned slightly closer, and a smile flashed on his face, followed by a smirk. "Obvious? Can never tell with women." He paused. Locking eye contact with the Hungarian, he ventured: "...Really? _All_ the time?"

* * *

Elizaveta frowned at his smile-smirk, and started tingling when the Dane drew in closer. "Yes, obvious - I use a lot of sarcasm if I ever do lie." And then her brain clicked from Mathias' change in attitude as she interpreted his voice differently. She seemed to know where he was going, and something inside of her began to swarm through her body. Her eyes did not withdraw from the fixed eye contact, and she presented a smirk to the Dane as well.

"All the time?" her darkened voice repeated. "I've only been with you for a few days, but yes, so far it has been 'all the time'. Are you doubting my words right now?" Elizaveta, even if she was acting differently, didn't bend away from the Dane. She knew exactly what the Dane was going through and what he planned to do, and prepared a scheme of her own.

* * *

Mathias cocked an eyebrow at the Hungarian. "True-sarcasm seems to be your specialty." He noticed a change in the Hun's eyes, however, and her returned smirk confirmed it. The Dane leaned in further, diminishing even more space between the two of them. A smirk still playing on his lips, he let out a light chuckle, though it had a strange-almost dark-tone to it. _All the time..._

"That's what I meant. These past few days." His eyes narrowed. "You enjoyed it. _All_ the time. Every day?" The Dane leaned dangerously close to the Hungarian, and whispered: "_Every night_?"

* * *

Elizaveta braced herself for the moment - the Dane was probably unable to resist her any longer and was bending in for his own selfish reason, which she knew exactly what it was. She kept her smirk and stare at Mathias as he closed the space between them and responded slowly, her lips ever so slightly brushing against his, "Yes. _All_ the time. Every day, _every night_."

* * *

_**A/N:**_

_**xNeyu: **Hmm, don't think I have much to say, besides lots of incoming mood swings. x_x And yes, haha, it's my turn to do the researching once they get to Budapest. Giving **Amerzt **a break, hehe. _  
_And that dream...eh. -remains silent-_

**_Amerzt_**_: __ Also, for those non-Germans out there, I will say that that sentence in German is pretty...vulgar. XD Use Google Translator if you want to know what it means...it's accurate. I'm sorry, but I had that song (as well as the other used) stuck in my head. The first song is "Who Wants to be Alone" by Tiesto ft. Nelly Furtado, and the second song is "Ich Tu Dir Weh" by Rammstein. _

_Dude, we want Denmark's house. So much. jaskdfjaskdlf Love how modern his furniture and home is - that's why we want to live there now, YES._


	19. Chapter 18

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 18**

* * *

Elizaveta quickly backed away before Mathias could shut their mouths together - as much as she absolutely _lusted_ for it - swiftly twirling around and making her way to the door, power walking backwards as she did so. Her gaze never left the man's as to keep an eye on him, making sure he wouldn't obtain everything he desired.

* * *

Mathias shuddered with pleasure as her lips barely brushed his, and her words excited him, as he felt his blood rush and his heart beat slightly quicker. _Just what I wanted to hear._

However, before he could taste her, she had managed to get away. _Dammit._ However, the smirk on her face and the look in her eyes told the Dane clearly that she wasn't offended…._She's messing with me again._ The Dane's selfish desire was becoming too great, and the next position he found himself in was shoving the Hungarian against a wall, the actual memory of him catching up to her and grabbing her a complete blur. _I'm not even drunk..._ All he knew was that he was getting a high from whatever sensation rushed through his system, and he peered down at Elizaveta, a smirk creeping onto his face. "Playing hard to get, huh?"

* * *

Elizaveta, much like the other night, was pinned against the wall right beside the door to his room, though she wasn't intimidated one bit; her eyes sparked with playfulness, her smirk becoming rather seducing. "If I wasn't playing hard, then wouldn't all of this be boring?" Her hand reached up to hold the Dane's chin with her thumb and index finger, then she chuckled ominously. "Though, Mathias, you're being as stubborn as usual, trying to get your ways. I'm afraid that you won't escape so easily with that."

_What are you doing?_ that voice from afar called to her again, though stunningly clearer than during that night in the other house. Even if somewhat startled by the voice, Elizaveta paid no attention to it and threw it aside, only focusing on the uncontrolled man in front of her.

* * *

Mathias snickered. "That is quite true..." His skin crawled at her touch, and he shuddered from her chuckle. He pressed the Hungarian against the wall, eyes narrowed, and breathed on her lips as he spoke. "Maybe. Maybe not." He smirked. "But what does it matter?"

A feeling of nostalgia rose in him as he pressed his lips against hers, licking her lips before invading her mouth with his tongue. _Now you're just horny._ A voice in the back of his head scolded. _This time, you don't have alcohol to blame._ Mathias ignored the voice, knowing very well that he wasn't intoxicated. He instead deepened the kiss, and one arm moved to the side and pushed the door so that it shut, locking her with the other one.

* * *

Before she could reply, her lips were moistened with Mathias' tongue and saliva; a cold but wonderful shiver ran down her body as his tongue entered her mouth, giving out a short groan. Elizaveta knew that if she tried to back away, she wouldn't be able to, but it didn't stop her from struggling back. Her hands curled around the Dane's neck, tightly though not with her best strength, and shoved his head away from hers, thus breaking mouth to mouth contact. Her arm wiped the bottom half of her face.

"Resorting to that already? You have no patience," Elizaveta uttered behind her arm, hiding a smirk.

* * *

Mathias was throughly enjoying the kiss, her groan causing another rush through his body. However, his pleasure didn't last as he felt her hands on his neck and the Hungarian forced them apart. He breathed heavily, catching his breath, before releasing a low snicker. The Viking's eyes were full of lust as brought his mouth next to Elizaveta's ear, breathing chillingly into it. "Patience is overrated. Besides, what do you mean by already resorting to it?" Suddenly, the Dane remembered something. His hand traced up the Hun's thigh delicately, and reached partially under her dress. In one fluid movement, Mathias removed the Hungarian's knife from its usual spot and threw it to the side.

* * *

His snicker, though music to her ears, caused her to frown. _You child._ Her frown curled up into a devilish smirk at Mathias' question, and muttered, "I'm not answering that." She then felt fingers skim her thigh and shuddered at the touch, but her eyes watched carefully as Elizaveta predicted his movements - and correctly, at that. A sneer came upon her face as the knife spun in circles and across the floor, the sound of metal sharply sliding against it. Elizaveta stared at the knife for a few seconds before her smirk returned to her lips.

"Why thank you," Elizaveta thanked him, heavy with sarcasm.

* * *

Mathias wore a smug expression on his face, a devilish smile adorned on his lips. "Why, you're very welcome. Didn't want it to cause an _accident_." From the Hun's reaction, he could tell that she was greatly displeased that she no longer had her knife. _So she did have some plan up her sleeve,_ he assumed. With the knife out of the way, the Dane pressed his lower body against the Hungarian, and he nipped at her ear. _You're entering dangerous waters._

* * *

"I perfectly understand," Elizaveta played along. "After all, no one wants bloodshed or another _war_..." The Hungarian's grip on Mathias' neck loosened as he bent in to nip her ear, letting out a short moan. Her blood seemed to rush even faster when the Dane pressed in on her lower body - it told her that he wanted to do something reckless, sinfully reckless. Her hands then slid past Mathias' neck, rubbing her skin against his and intertwining her fingers together. "Though, seeing you covered in blood would be _wonderful_ to see."

_You're inviting him,_ the voice warned her. _Don't do it._

_I'll do whatever I like,_ Elizaveta answered in her head, seemingly to herself.

* * *

Mathias let out a heavy breath on hearing Elizaveta moan, and the feel of her smooth, soft skin rubbing against his...he wanted _more. So much more._ He kept his lower body pressured against hers, his own blood rushing as his lust grew. His lips curved into a devilish smirk upon her words, leaning in so that his narrowed eyes were looking directly into her deep green ones. "Wonderful to see, eh?" He allowed a sinister and low snicker to escape his lips. "I could say the same about you." The Viking gently bit at the Hun's bottom lip, allowing his breath to tingle her lips.

_Stop, before you go too far._ Mathias mentally scowled at the voice that tried to be the sound of reason.

_Shut up._ With that, the Dane shoved the voice into the deepest corner of his mind, not wishing for it to ruin the moment he had, right now, with the female nation.

* * *

Elizaveta squeaked quietly from Mathias' bite, somewhat startled. Her lower jaw shifted around slightly to squeeze out of the bite and, with the aid of her hands that had slowly made their way to the Dane's cheeks, she snuck in a kiss. The pressure she applied to his lips was gentle on purpose, as the Hungarian wanted to see if Mathias would get carried away with it. Her hands then slid away from his face, tracing past his neck and muscular chest to reach each side of his waist, next to the point where their bodies were against each other. Again, her desire for the man in front of her was growing, yet something inside of her still kept her away from keeping Mathias all to herself. _Dammit, what is that that's preventing me from...?_

* * *

Mathias smiled at the Hungarian's squeak, a smile that soon met her lips as she gently kissed him as he felt her warm hands on his cheeks. He craved to passionately kiss her back, but decided to stay gentle, though he did add a slight intensity to it. He felt another chill run down his spine and his blood rush as he felt Elizaveta's hands make their way down to his waist, her gentle touch exciting the skin under the clothing. His own hands found a place on her waist, though after tracing up her legs. It was becoming harder and harder to resist his selfish and dirty desires, but he managed, though all he wanted in that moment was to be the one that the Hungarian would also always crave for.

* * *

Elizaveta was impressed with the control the Dane had over himself. She grinned against his lips before breaking off, though not too far away; her expression turned back into a serious frown. "The last thing something like this happened," the Hungarian began, "we were madly drunk. What's causing this to return again?" She wasn't quite sure about the tone of voice she used, but her tone was still deep and somewhat teasing. However, her question was rather serious, in which her eyes stared into his narrowed ones once again to search for an answer.

* * *

Mathias blinked at the Hungarian. The question she asked was something he himself would like to know the answer to. He observed her expression-by tone of voice, she was still enjoying this, but the look in her eyes showed that she desired an answer. The Dane stood silent for a while, enjoying the warmth radiating off of the Hun's body. His lips brushed against hers as he finally spoke: "First night drunk. Next day hungover. Now... He then moved to rest his forehead against the wall next to her head, so that his mouth was next to her ear. His voice suddenly got quieter. "...I don't know." He closed his eyes, a swarm of feelings joining with the blood rush, almost causing a headache.

* * *

Something seemed to knock the air out of Elizaveta as the Dane whispered closely to her; her eyes widened as her normal self seemed to take over her. _Oh...Oh my god._ Though she was unsure if Mathias would cooperate, Elizaveta pushed away his lower body from hers with a rather potent hands, which then rose in the air to move the Dane's face to place it in front of her own. His eyes were closed, but even so, the Hungarian's determined stare burned through his eyelids. Elizaveta then let her feelings randomly explode:

"Mathias, my heart is telling me that I shouldn't, wouldn't, and couldn't leave you." She paused as her brain rapidly formed the next words she wanted to say. "But _something_ - something is convincing me that I can't be with you like this." She then realized what she had admitted to Mathias, stretching her eyes bigger again, and her fingers tensed against the Dane's cheeks. Knowing that it was too late to change her words, Elizaveta continued, her voice low, "It just feels all wrong."

* * *

Mathias suddenly felt himself being pushed off of the Hungarian. He felt her hands on his face again, and allowed her to move his head. He kept his eyes closed, though slowly opened them as Elizaveta started to speak. _Her heart..._ His eyes gradually widened as she spoke, body stiffening. Her words pulled at his heart, which beat against his chest as if to stubbornly get his attention. The Dane's eyes then narrowed at her final words, his own frustration starting to build up. If she was going to tell him her true feelings, he would too.

"Eli," The Dane's voice was quiet, gentle. "I've been feeling and feel the same way. But..." His eyebrows knitted. "Why, _why_ does that something have to matter? At this point I've thrown whatever it was out the window." Mathias' right hand came up to lie on top of the Hungarian's hand, and the look he gave her was full of desire. He mumbled: "But it's not wrong."

* * *

"Mathias," the Hungarian's voice nearly croaked out. That crack alone somehow made her want to cry, but managed to fight it off. "I can't just stop caring about everything else." She stared down at their hands, her eyes greatly dulled with sadness - Elizaveta couldn't bare exchanging looks with him. She turned her hands over, palm side up, and squeezed the Viking hands Mathias had.

Then her head was filled with the thoughts that she wanted to forget about forever - she was surprised that she never thought of this all day today, but Elizaveta finally recalled her confrontation with Roderich, his reactions, her worries - they all attacked and haunted her at once, in which the Hungarian involuntarily tightened her hold on Mathias' hands to a rather deadly degree. "And...and..." Her mouth was hesitating to even mention Roderich's name to the Dane, causing her to simply trail off.

* * *

The Dane nearly felt his heart sink as she spoke. Elizaveta's fragile voice was getting to him, and he wished he could just tear away at all of her worries so that the two of them didn't have to go through this. "I'm not telling you to stop caring about everything else." He said lowly. It was true-being nations they _couldn't_ stop caring.

Feeling the tightened squeeze on his hands, Mathias stared into the Hungarian's eyes. He could feel how hesitant she was to say anything, and the look she had...there could be only one thing she was thinking about. He finally spoke again, gently but slowly. "...It's...Roderich, isn't it?" Just by speaking the Austrian's name, bitter thoughts entered the Dane's mind-not only the incident at Elizaveta's home, but countless other times he had been a problem to Mathias. He sighed. _Why..._

* * *

The inevitable teardrops landed on her hands, possibly even on Mathias' skin; he had read her mind, though she wasn't surprised, as it was usually and only Roderich that concerned her so much nowadays. Her head remained drooping. "You're probably disgusted with how many times I mention him," Elizaveta murmured, her voice somehow clear and unaffected by her emotions. She seemed to naturally let everything out anyways, whether or not the Dane liked it. "But...I've told him. I've told him about my new feelings and...he said he needed time to think it over." She paused, biting her bottom lip harshly. "He left abruptly, not with the greatest mood." Now that the Hungarian thought about it, Elizaveta couldn't remember a time when she ever upset her ex-husband. That realization ripped her apart.

"I really shouldn't be so concerned about this, I know that very well." The way she spoke obviously showed that her polite and lady like side was coming back, just from the topic of the Austrian alone. Though, the name was apparently difficult for Elizaveta to say now, as suggested by how dry her throat seemed to be as she continued, "But I'm afraid that I'll lose him - of losing Roderich."

* * *

Mathias grimaced as he saw and felt the Hungarian's tears. Seeing her cry was the last thing he wanted. The Dane listened carefully to what she had to say, keeping silent as he focused on the top of her head as her face was turned towards the ground. _Disgusted? No. Frustrated? A bit._ His eyes slightly widened as she made her confession. _She told Roderich?...New feelings..._ He remembered how he had told his Nordic brothers, who thankfully supported him, even if they were surprised by his sudden emotions towards another nation.

The Dane could easily visualize the Austrian's reaction, and his eyes narrowed. He stood silent, pondering over what Elizaveta had just told him. He finally managed to slip his hands out of her grasp and instead moved them to caress her face, gently pushing her head up to make eye-contact. His thumbs brushed her soft, wet cheeks, attempting to wipe away the tears. "Eli," Mathias spoke softly, though a tinge of lust accented her name. "I doubt you'll lose him. If he really cares about you, he'll be happy with whatever-and whoever-you choose." He sighed, hoping the message would get through the Hungarian's head. _If she told him...so she_ has _been feeling the same way..._

* * *

Elizaveta's head had shifted the way Mathias wanted them to be, crooking upward without resistance. The way he held her face was so warming, so alleviating, so _loving_ that it internally tortured her. Her eyes, probably shining whiter than usual from her tears under the dimmed light, locked in with Mathias', the sight of his sky colored irises too hard to tear away from. His words floated in her head for longer they should have, though it was most likely for the better of her - she considered the Dane's words, how Roderich would behave, and how he would answer to her confession. _He's right,_ she discovered, unable to believe that Roderich would do anything worse. Though reluctantly, the Hungarian nodded slowly, putting on a forced smile.

"Thank you, Mathias," she whispered, shutting her eyes as her hands masked his dearly. Even if that problem felt somewhat resolved, a new worry concerned her, but was more trivial than her issue with Roderich. _Mathias...does have the same feelings for me, right?_ She noticed that he never outrightly said it, but his actions somewhat convinced her that he did. Elizaveta decided to not pressure the Dane with that, though she did tense up slightly.

* * *

As he waited for Elizaveta's response, he stared at her eyes-the deep green surrounded by shining white, her tears having only freshly shed. Mathias was relieved to see that the Hungarian found comfort in his words, though he could tell that her smile was forced. His skin tingled as he felt her warm hands and skin on his own, and he inhaled quietly. He was filled with her sweet scent, which was becoming like a drug to him, intoxicating and taking over his senses.

The Dane felt her tense up after she had closed her eyes, her eyelids blocking his earlier view. He pressed his forehead against hers, and breathed onto her lips as he spoke softly. "You're all I've been able to think about."

* * *

His breath caused her to begin yearning for him yet again - he was as addicting as a drunk man was to alcohol, and she couldn't help it but to selfishly want him all to herself. Though, she knew better than that; Mathias still had his brothers, the Nordic brothers, to be with and care for, like a family. However, his familiar scent that clung to his skin wasn't of much aid to her, as the thought of the other Scandinavians died out from her brain.

The single sentence he said seemed to answer her question and confirm that Mathias did think the same way she did of him. She stopped breathing for a moment, nearly believing that she had died, then eventually recovered her normal breathing rate. Elizaveta was pleased with the warmth that Mathias was giving her from his head, whether it was physically or emotionally. "...Is that why you sounded so heartbroken when I said I was going to leave tomorrow?"

* * *

Mathias stood still for a moment, then slightly and slowly nodded his head while still keeping his forehead against hers, though didn't answer her question with words. His heart slightly quickened its pace as he brought his lips dangerously close to hers, so that they came in and out of contact with each other as he spoke softly.

"...I'll admit, not all of those thoughts were clean ones." With that, he gently pressed his lips against hers, his craving for her irresistible and unavoidable. His blood was excited once more and the mix of the rush of blood and her scent gave him an all new high.

* * *

Elizaveta's eyes opened slightly from surprise, staring at Mathias through the crack of her eyelids. Truthfully, dirty men - well, she _liked_ it when men were dirty. She liked how he was such a man, but she absolutely loved how head over heels and _obsessed_ he was with her, if she could say that from his actions. However, she had to say the same for herself: there was no way she couldn't fawn over him. The Hungarian at first returned the kiss gently, but Mathias' blood rush seemed to seep through him and affect Elizaveta herself, in which her lips then powerfully pressed his. She allowed some time to pass by before releasing the kiss for a few seconds, not backing too far away from his face, to say quickly, "Why didn't I get to know you earlier?" While her last syllable came out, she bent her head in again to continue their kiss, hungry for the Dane.

* * *

Whatever resistance the Dane still had left in him was quickly abolished as Elizaveta powerfully returned the kiss. _Damn, she's good._ The fact that she had returned the kiss-and was still going at it-revealed that she didn't _mind_ that he had dirty thoughts of her, and for all he knew, she possibly had some about him as well. He caught a quick breath when she momentarily released the kiss, though it lasted only a second, and found himself locked in the kiss again. Mathias moved to push himself up against her again, and after a few seconds he murmured between their make-out session: "I don't…know. You were...always...too busy."

* * *

Elizaveta lost some of her breath as the Dane further closed in on her, her heart beating rapidly and her temperature rising from so much body heat. Eventually, she had to abruptly tear away from the kiss, gasping for air as she looked away from Mathias before the sight of him alone tempted her into something else. The Hungarian then moved a hand and gently placed it on his face's cheek with affection, her eyes displaying a mix of love and sadness. "If I had known more about you earlier," she murmured, still panting, "we wouldn't be in this position right now. If I hadn't married Roderich and became so attached to him..."

She dared herself to approach that thought, though was fortunate enough to not break down from that. Elizaveta obviously knew him since the time she was a Teutonic Knight, so it would have been difficult for her to develop feelings for Mathias...however, she barely recalled encountering the Danish during that time, so she did have a chance to meet the Dane. _Just my luck..._ Then again, Elizaveta was obviously attracted to how well mannered the Austrian was at such a young age, and probably wouldn't have fallen for any other guy unless they were just as mannered; she knew that Mathias definitely wasn't like that during his childhood. _He was a Viking,_ Elizaveta told herself.

* * *

Mathias breathed heavily when Elizaveta tore away from the kiss, shakily panting. His cheek tingled with the touch of her hand and he lost himself in her eyes, where the tinge of sadness present in the sea of green tugged at his heart. The Dane's eyes narrowed as she spoke, realizing that what she said was true. _What else would have changed...how would things be right now, for both of us, if he had gotten to know each other more earlier?_

He realized that the two may have never had a chance together. Since the Hungarian was young she had been friends with the Austrian, she undoubtedly held some affection towards him. He, on the other hand, had only interacted with the Hungarian via competing with the Teutonic Knights for trade, territory and influence when everyone was after the area of the Baltics. He then darkly remembered how his land had been experiencing violent civil wars, and surely the Hun would have wanted nothing to due with a violent and dismantled nation when she had _Roderich_.

Still catching his breath, the Dane lightly panted, murmuring: "I guess...fate works in strange ways." Pushing away the memories from the past, he contacted her lips yet again, her taste just as intoxicating as her scent.

* * *

Then Mathias had to initiate it again - she suddenly found herself in yet another kiss, both hands now on his face as she returned the display of affection. Elizaveta, for some reason, wasn't as passionate with her kiss, as her memories of the past still remained in her head, no matter how much she tried to shake it away. The Hungarian ended up saying a muffled "Mathias" in an attempt to try to make him stop, but didn't have much hope as she knew that the Viking often had trouble controlling himself. Using a different method, her lower body began shifting to escape from her confinement.

* * *

Mathias felt the reluctance from the Hungarian in the kiss, and his cheeks slightly flushed when she began to shift, as doing so caused her to rub against his body. After deepening it slightly, selfishly savoring every moment he could, he gently broke the kiss, removing his lips from hers. He stared at her for the longest time, only murmuring her name once as he waited for her to say or do something. He was struggling with his lust, and he had to force every cell in his body to stay put.

* * *

Elizaveta was able to tell that Mathias was begging for more, but was surprised that he had actually decided to move away from her. His eyes even told her that he didn't want to break off; his murmur pained her as well, in which she listened closely to how he sounded out her name. The Hungarian wished that he would say her complete name more often. "I'm sorry Mathias," she apologized, her hands moving down to his to lightly grasp them. "I...I'd like some time to think to myself." Her head turned for her to read the time - a few hours had already passed. "And we should go to sleep soon."

* * *

Mathias stood in silence, still, but finally managed to nod. He closed his eyes for a moment, allowing his heart to go back to its normal pace, his blood to again calmly flow through his body. The Dane pushed himself off of the wall, off of the Hungarian, taking a step back, though he kept his eyes on her. "Right." The mention of sleep made him realize that he was actually pretty worn out. It was practically early morning now, and if they waited any longer they would end up waking up far too late again.

"So, uhm..." He couldn't hide the tinge of nervousness to his words, though he spoke softly. "Where do you want to sleep?"

* * *

Elizaveta was relieved that the Dane didn't get out of hand again. _Not like the other night. Not like the other night._ She sighed lightly, pressing against the wall to stand properly on her feet, then made her way to her discarded knife, picked it up, and sheathed it beneath her dress. Feeling the awkwardness in the atmosphere, the Hungarian glanced around unsurely, the strange feeling spreading to her as well. "Oh, um...anywhere, I guess," she laughed, realizing that she could fall asleep _literally_ anywhere in his house. "I really have no preference when it comes to a place like this." Something else then struck her - _Anywhere but_ your _bed,_ Elizaveta wanted to change, but found it too embarrassing to mention, so she stayed mute.

* * *

Mathias nodded, the Hungarian's laughter uplifting. He smiled, then looked around. "Well, you can sleep in the guest room downstairs, or over there, on a futon." He pointed towards the door, indicating the game room. The Dane reluctantly opened the door of his bedroom, allowing the other room to be visible. Fatigue was slowly overpowering his body, and he wouldn't be surprised if he collapsed on the spot. He let out a yawn into his sleeve and was now yearning for a bed more than anything. _Must...keep...eyes open..._

* * *

Her mind was able to quickly decide what to rest on. "A bed sounds nice right now; I'll be heading downstairs." The Hun then ambled out the door, though not without spotting Mathias yawning. _How cute,_ she thought, smiling. She couldn't blame Mathias for being so tired - after all, circadian rhythms do have to overcome them eventually. Though Elizaveta herself wasn't feeling all that wiped out, she predicted that she would be once her body hit a mattress or couch. Her upper body twisted around to face Mathias, giving him yet another apologetic glance, before making her way across the hallway and descending the staircase, not expecting the Dane to follow her - and somewhat hoping he wouldn't, either, though not in a bad way. _I'll never be able to leave him if he does._

* * *

The glance the Hungarian threw him only clawed at his chest. He forced a small smile and nodded. "Okay." He followed her slightly out of the doorframe and then stopped, leaning one shoulder against the wall as he watched the Hungarian disappear down the stairs. "...Good night." He quickly retreated back to his room before his feet led him to follow after Elizaveta, as much as he'd like to. The Dane convinced himself that it was merely to make sure that she settled in okay. However, he knew he wouldn't be able to control himself if he again was presented with her in front of him, and he wanted to comply with her wish to be left alone for some time.

_At this rate..._ Mathias shook his head, and allowed his bedroom doors to remain open as he slipped out of his shirt and jeans and into a pair of track pants. He was tempted to just collapse in his boxers but decided against it. He plopped on to his bed and sprawled out, staring at the ceiling. The Dane felt confused in every which way and his head only hurt when he tried to think. Fatigue grabbed him again, and his body quickly relaxed as his eyelids shut, and before he knew it, he had fallen fast asleep.

* * *

Elizaveta had waited for herself to arrive at the first story of the home, her hand tracing down the rail of the stairs, before lifting her head up to respond to Mathias. She couldn't see him from where she stood - rather, she wasn't even sure if he was still there - but it did somewhat hurt her on the inside. She learned to be somewhat grateful about it, however, as she knew that one way or another, they would have to split up in order to fulfill their duties as nations. Her feet then led her over to the one of the guest rooms past the living room, though not without walking at a slow pace in order to admire the Dane's home again and to kill off some energy.

After some time, she eventually found herself staring thoughtlessly at yet another picture of the Nordic family hiding in the corner of the den; Valdimar and Eirik appeared rather upset, Tino wearing an unsure smile, Berwald on the verge of killing someone, and of course, Mathias was messing around like the typical Dane he was, the only source of happiness within the photograph. Elizaveta couldn't help but to smile and wonder if Mathias would disappear from the picture.

When she made her way into the guest room, she was stalling time again just to enjoy the design of the room; but once her eyes came upon the bed, Elizaveta couldn't resist how comfy the mattress looked and quickly settled down on it after lifting up the blankets. Once in a satisfying lying position, Elizaveta closed her eyes to let sleep dominate her. However, she realized that she couldn't fall asleep right away, but the thought of Mathias and his warmth and affection made her sink immediately into unconsciousness.

* * *

**_A/N:  
_**

_Nosebleeding chapter, heh. |_D_ But less than before. And more mood swings, eeeeehhh. -shot-_

_**xNeyu**: I'm really sorry for those who don't like how Austria is interfering with Denmark's and Hungary's love - I know that some people out there actually do mind, but since Austria/Hungary is an actual pairing in Hetalia, then he has to have some kind of interference. Again, we're trying to incorporate as much of the manga into here as we can so that it sticks closely to it. And there wouldn't be any decent plot line without him. _  
_Also, I hope people don't mind that I throw in lots of random stuff in there, like the picture frame and stuff. o3o;; I tend to do that...a lot. If you haven't noticed. xD;_


	20. Chapter 19

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 19**

* * *

The Dane wasn't sure if he had slept peacefully that night. He couldn't remember his dreams clearly (if he even had any) or if he had woken up at any point, but the filtered sunlight through the window gradually awakened his body. The songs of birds and distant roaring waves indicated his brain was waking up, and Mathias lay for a while, enjoying the tranquility of it all. For all he knew, he might have dozed off again, but at some point he finally opened his eyes, though slowly. His vision blurred at first, but after blinking a few times the familiar sight of his room came into view.

Mathias' thoughts wandered, and he remembered the Hungarian who was probably still sleeping downstairs. His eyes moved to the clock. _It's nearly 11:00 AM._ With a groan, he managed to get up into a sitting position, rubbing at his eyes. He then slipped off of the bed, stretching while yawning as he shook away his sleep. He absentmindedly ambled out of his room down the stairs, forgetting he wasn't wearing a shirt. After all, he wasn't used to having a girl in the house. He inhaled, enjoying the morning scent in the house as sunlight brightened each room through the large windows.

The Dane walked down the hall and paused, quickly finding the room that Elizaveta had chosen to sleep in. He quietly stood at the doorway, watching her rest, her chest slowly and rhythmically rising up and down as she breathed. Her hair sprawled across the bed, some strands of it resting on her face. The sunlight that managed to get through the closed thin curtains made her skin glow. Mathias caught his breath at the sight of her, and allowed himself to stare at her for a while, moments like these rare, and had to resist getting closer to her.

He then finally managed to tear his gaze away and made his way to the kitchen. _Breakfast...no, a brunch at this rate._ Craving for a proper morning meal, he began to prepare coffee along with some buttered bread and eggs. He hit a button on one of the walls, and gently some contemporary Danish folk music began to play. He let himself get lost in the song, his body moving in sync to the rhythm of the song while preparing the breakfast.

* * *

In her sleep, Elizaveta seemed to pick up some kind of music playing in her ears. She wasn't too sure if it was her brain that was playing it in her head or whether someone was singing it far away or if it was just playing on some radio station; but the Hungarian didn't mind at all. Music was music, and she had been living with it almost all her life because of Roderich. The instrumental was soothing as well, until words that she could not comprehend were softly sung by a female voice:

"_...__Roselil Rose min datter så fin, hvem har du favnet i natten__..._"

The Hungarian blinked a few times in an attempt to completely wake up and open up her senses to her surroundings. She laid in the bed for what seemed like a long time, hypnotized by the faint music running faintly. As the steady beat moved on and on, thoughts of her former lover roamed through her mind, nearly haunting her; without noticing it herself, Elizaveta held her breath, her eyes locked open and unblinking at the ceiling. The song continued:

"_...__Hvem har bejlet for din fod...sig mig hvem har du taget imod, hvem har du favnet i natten__..._"

Then the music seemed to call out to her, her brain making the volume louder than it should be, in which Elizaveta inhaled a large amount of air and drunk in much of Mathias' scent. The smell caused her to sit up suddenly, her hair flying up as the blankets flung and ruffled loudly. She stared down at her legs for a few seconds, regaining her composure, before glancing around and crawling off of the bed to prepare herself for another day. However, as she walked out the room, she remembered that she was in Mathias' house, and was lacking the usual things she needed to get herself ready. _Another day without brushing my teeth, I guess. I should at least rinse my mouth somewhere..._ Elizaveta decided to simply walk to the source of the music to see if the Dane was around, and ended up standing at the border of the kitchen, spotting Mathias making something for himself. Smiling at how happy he appeared to be, Elizaveta leaned against the wall with her arms behind her back, watching him.

"Good morning, Mathias."

* * *

The Dane decided that the Hungarian would be up soon enough and prepared breakfast for two, pouring coffee into two mugs. After setting the coffee pot down he continued with the eggs, making a couple of omelettes. He was so lost in the music that he nearly jumped upon hearing Elizaveta's voice. He turned to look at her, timidly smiling. "Good morning. Hope you slept well." While waiting for the bread to be toasted, he picked up the two mugs of coffee and walked over to the Hun, offering one of the mugs to her. "At least we didn't oversleep this time."

He took his own mug in both hands and leaned against the counter, peering down at the caffeinated drink. _How is today going to end up..._ It was then that he realized he was shirtless, and let out a barely audible sigh. _Way to go, Mathias._ The Dane's thoughts then went to Elizaveta. _She didn't end up buying anything besides the jacket yesterday...I should give her something else to wear._ Searching for a conversation, he finally spoke again. "I don't know how you work-brush and everything before you eat or after, but I'll give you stuff if you feel like freshening up."

* * *

"Yes, I did; thank you." Elizaveta caught his small expression change, blinking twice from his smile. _He's so cute when he does that._ She accepted the drink that the Dane gave her, cupping the mug lightly and moving it up to her face to cool it down with her breath, much like the way she did so at the restaurant yesterday. Though she wasn't too affected by Mathias' half-nakedness, Elizaveta, being her typical self, stared at the creases in his body, secretly admiring his muscular build. Her eyes slowly moved down past his abs, down to the rim of his pants, and..._Stop yourself, Elizaveta._ She then forced her eyes to wind back up at Mathias' face, making eye contact with him.

"Don't worry about me," the Hungarian insisted as usual. She really didn't want to take advantage of his hospitality anymore, as she did so many times already. "I'll take care of myself once we head to Budapest - and speaking of which, would you like to leave right after we eat?" As much as she would have loved to stay in Copenhagen, Elizaveta wanted to return to her home, as she worried if she had any letters or messages waiting for her. _And if Roderich calmed down, I'm sure he has something to say._

* * *

Mathias shook his head. Knowing that the Hungarian was awfully stubborn (much like himself), he decided to let her have her way. "If you say so." He took a few sips of his coffee before replying to her question. "And sure. We'll take the car this time, though. That walk was awfully long." He laughed. He heard the sound of the toaster releasing the bread and went over to prepare the two plates of breakfast, then walked over and set the plates down on the dining table. He gestured for the Hungarian to sit down as he himself plopped down into a seat. It felt good to feel the sun on his skin and his gaze momentarily looked out the window to view the daytime world.

* * *

Elizaveta nodded, agreeing to use his car as a means of transportation even though she didn't want to; she had walked around enough these past three days, and was actually hoping to stop by her home before heading to Budapest on her horse. _On horseback...that's not a bad idea. I'd like to see Mathias trying to ride one,_ she entertained herself. She returned to reality as she realized that the Dane was beckoning her to sit at the table, and happily did so, taking her time to reach him and settling down in the modern chair. The Hungarian examined the piece of toast before taking a bite, in which she glanced at Mathias, then followed his gaze to the window to find herself staring at the mature garden beyond the glass, entranced by the variety of colors the plants offered aside from green. Her eyes were so pleased with the flowers that she had forgotten that she had breakfast to eat, and eventually did continue biting off of the slice of bread (though not without letting some time pass by). Her free hand then patted her hair in remembering that the Dane had slid a flower in between her hair strands yesterday.

_It's not there,_ she thought. _It probably fell out sometime last night, or in the guest room's bed..._

* * *

Mathias stared outside for a while, then turned to eat breakfast. He caught the Hungarian looking out as well, slowly eating the piece of toast. He decided to leave her be and stayed silent, picking up a fork and knife to eat the omelette. He took a couple of bites, and then glanced at the clock. It was nearly noon, and he decided the sooner they leave, the better. He quickly finished off the egg and nibbled on the toast, taking several sips of the coffee in between. Finally finishing off everything, he got up, glancing at the Hungarian.

"I'm going to freshen up real quick. Don't rush." As he looked at her, he happened to notice something, though probably only because he had been looking at flowers earlier. The one from yesterday wasn't there. He shook his head to get rid of the thought and flashed a smile at her. "Just need to get into some...clothes." He felt awkward saying it, and quickly escaped to the stairs before he fumbled on more words.

* * *

While finishing her toast, Elizaveta turned her head to look at Mathias, then nodded and swallowed the chewed food in her mouth. "Alright," she replied, though didn't pick up how awkward the sentence was as she distracted herself with the garden. As she continued eating, the Hungarian spotted something moving within the shadows of the trees and perked up with interest; she distinguished it to be a few pigeons, bobbing their heads and cooing loudly as they walked by. Elizaveta blinked a few times, staring at them with a confused look, before turning away and eating and drinking the rest of her breakfast. While waiting for Mathias to return, the Hungarian further pondered about travelling around Budapest with the Dane. _Actually, maybe we shouldn't go to Budapest on horse...I'll just teach him how to ride one when we're outside of the city._ She remembered how her capital wasn't _all_ that old fashioned, with so many trains, trams, and other various transportation systems.

* * *

Mathias was in his room before long, and made his way to his bathroom, which was connected to his room in the corner. He washed his face and brushed his teeth, normal procedures of the morning. He slipped out of the track pants and into slim blue denim jeans with a white studded belt and a black v-neck hoodie shirt. Fixing up his hair, he stared at the mirror for a while, his thoughts wandering again, not really paying attention to what he was doing. _I wonder if we'll run into any problems there...after all, we'll be near the others._ The Dane realized how thankful he was to be part of the Nordics, even if they were the "outsiders" of Europe. It allowed them to keep away from many of the politics and issues that plagued the Eastern European nations. Most of the time.

He shook the thought out of his head and slipped into his long black boots, covering his jeans. As he did so, his eyes fell upon the red and white flower. It lay near the door, and looked as if it had just been freshly picked, its petals still tender and flourishing. After giving one final tug on his boots to make sure they were on properly, he picked up the flower, gently. The Dane then closed the doors to his bedroom, causing them to lock, and headed downstairs, staring at the flower while twirling it in his hands. _What should I do with it...give it back to her? Or would that seem obsessive..._

* * *

After some time, Elizaveta seemed to have an idea of where to drag Mathias around in Budapest. She rose, realizing that she should clean up after herself and fix the bedsheets in the guest room. _I'd hate to leave it like that._ As she gathered her plates, she spotted Mathias' dishes that had been abandoned, and decided to take those as well to wash up. Once done, the Hungarian retreated back to the guest room and fixed the bed to the condition it was before she slept in it in under one minute. After all, she had plenty of maid experience, while taking care of Feliciano and Lovino when she still lived with Roderich, making household cleaning second nature to her. _And Roderich...I really hope he's okay._ When she was ready, Elizaveta hunted down for her bag with her newly bought jacket, then returned to the kitchen and listened to the soft Danish music that sang to her.

_...__Vil du være allerkæresten min  
Så vil jeg føre dig til den ø  
hvor vi skal leve og aldrig dø__..._

* * *

When Mathias reached the kitchen area, he saw the Hungarian awaiting, ready to go, though she was turned away from him. He closed his eyes momentarily, listening to the song playing. Though the first words were heartaching, the song turned into a haunting story, and he quickly opened his eyes and made his presence known to Elizaveta. "Ready to go?" He grabbed his keys, shutting off the music in the process, and patted his pockets to make sure he had everything. He noticed that the dishes had been picked up and washed, and slightly shook his head. _She'll never change._

The Dane then walked up to the Hun and timidly presented the flower before her. "I...uh...found this. I don't know if you want it or..." He trailed off, waiting for her to say something, feeling embarrassed to even approach her about the issue.

* * *

Elizaveta was so absorbed into the song that Mathias had somewhat scared her when he questioned her. She quickly bobbed her head up and down once, almost sad that he had powered off the music, then turned to walk over to the garage. However, Elizaveta twisted back into her previous position as the Dane approached her, wondering if he was in need of something. Her heart nearly wrung when her eyes came upon the flower that Mathias held before her; for some reason, the Hun saw that as an invitation to something, more than just a flower that she had to accept or deny. But either way, Elizaveta smiled as her fingers braced the plant lightly, bringing it closely up to her nose to whiff the center of the flower after she closed her eyes. "...Yes, I do."

* * *

Mathias couldn't help but let a smile escape onto his lips as she took the flower. He felt something warm in his chest, and it was a pleasant feeling. He wished to say more, but refrained, instead taking her by the hand and walking to the garage. He released her once they reached the car, opening the door for the Hungarian, but he himself going to sit down instead of waiting for her. _She probably gets annoyed with how I treat her all the time..._

The Dane had noticed how Elizaveta had enjoyed the music playing earlier, and decided to play the same music in the car. _Besides, it's good driving music._ An instrumental tune began to play, soft and mellow, before the familiar enchanting voice began to sing.

_Mild mild sommervind  
lærker i dit hår  
hvor er det længe længe siden  
Men snart er rejsen endebragt  
snart vender du hjem  
til mild mild sommervind alle dage..._

He made sure both he and Elizaveta were securely in and backed out, moving onto the street and making sure that everything was locked by hitting a button on the remote several times. He then moved to press the touch screen present in his car, upon which a GPS system came up. The music faded slightly as a woman's voice asked: "Destination?" Mathias gestured to the Hungarian, motioning for her to speak to the system.

* * *

Rather than wear the flower, Elizaveta chose to carry it in her balled hand that left a cavity to prevent the plant to be crushed, letting her bag hang on her wrist. Her free hand had once again been seized by Mathias - this time, she stared at their locked hands, wondering if and when Roderich had ever done something like this that often. _...No,_ Elizaveta eventually told herself. _He would only take my hand to kiss it whenever we met._ Even so, her eyes couldn't help but to temporarily transform Mathias' hand to Roderich's, her past lingering before her, until she noticed that the two of them were at the garage. She quickly slipped on her boots before sitting down in the passenger's seat - she had given up convincing the Dane to be such a chauffeur.

Silently, Elizaveta watched Mathias mess around with the various devices in the car; familiar music played again, and noticing that it was the same artist as the one before, she couldn't help but to smile. _Oh, Mathias._ Soon, she was given the signal to state their destination, in which she murmured with her Hungarian accent, "_Budapest._" She paused, waiting for the GPS system to pick up her capital's name before continuing, "Or at least, we'll be heading towards there before turning off in a different direction to my house."

* * *

Mathias nodded, but before he could say anything, the voice of the GPS system spoke up once again: "Detour detected. Address?" The Dane couldn't help but smile. He was a technology-addict and though he didn't have to use his GPS often, he was glad that he had such an efficient model. He remained quiet, allowing the system to pick up on Elizaveta's voice again. As he waited, he thought about Budapest and what he would see there. He knew it was quite different from Copenhagen, but it would be interesting to see _how_ different. The Dane glanced over to the Hungarian and noticed her holding onto the flower. He smiled again, and looked back to the road in front of him.

* * *

_...I already don't like this thing._ Elizaveta frowned, though at the same time amused. She then spoke out her address rather than just Budapest alone - her home was actually some kilometers outside the capital, as to avoid anyone who would decide to raid her house. Many nations had that problem alone, but luckily, she could hide herself well in the crowds and even could rest in a hotel without anyone recognizing that it was her. Budapest, too, was a city that gathered many tourists, much like Copenhagen - she was lucky that only the _Danish_ men discovered her. _Though...I'm beginning to worry if Mathias will stick out..._

* * *

The GPS system registered her address and formed the maps and directions. The music came back to its normal volume, and the Dane followed the way to Elizaveta's house. He took a secret path, however, that only the nations knew of to avoid having to go through border security in any of the other nation territories. He let himself relax back in his seat, and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel to the soft beat of the music. He wasn't sure if he should say anything to break the tranquility of the moment, and observed the various trees on the secret road. The GPS system acted as if nothing happened, as satellites were also blocked on this road. He mainly would need the device when they were actually in the Hungarian's land.

* * *

Elizaveta decided to be concerned over Mathias _once_ someone was able to recognize him in Budapest - so she shrugged aside her worries and watched Mathias drive down the path that only the nations used. She wasn't surprised that he had this as well, but did try to draw out a map just in case she wished to take this path to get to Mathias' home. Eventually getting bored, the Hungarian began to hum to the music, her voice imitating the various notes and pitches of the song, and closed her eyes so that her senses could focus on her ears.

"_...__at fugle forglemte at synge__..._"

Elizaveta then almost forgot about how Mathias must have been suffering from boredom as well. Her eyes reopened, looking out of the corner of her eyes to glance at him, and stopped humming. "Are you sure you aren't busy?" the Hun double checked, with the thought of the other Scandinavians in the back of her mind.

* * *

Mathias was a bit surprised when he heard an added voice to the song-he glanced over to Elizaveta, and sure enough, it was the Hungarian, who hummed peacefully. He enjoyed it, a small smile seeming to have been glued to his lips. As it was a secret road, the Dane let the car speed through it, but not unreasonable as to scare Elizaveta. He had himself so lost in the music and her vocal harmonies that he was quite disappointed when she stopped. At her question, he laughed, shaking his head.

"I'm not busy. There really isn't much going on right now." He shrugged. "If I was busy, my boss or the others would be calling me on a consistent basis. I haven't gotten any calls in the last couple of days, so it's all good." Shooting her another glance, his smile curved into a joking pout. "What, suddenly don't want me to come anymore?"

* * *

"Alright, if you say so," Elizaveta mumbled, even somewhat guiltily, then sighed. Her back seemed to straighten on its own as a combination of a pout and a frown popped up onto her face. "_No!_" She then coughed, finding it impolite to have stressed her retort like that. "I mean, I'm just...worried about you and how much time you've spent with me. You should at least try to get back with your fami-" And there she went, letting her mouth slip again. "...With the Nordics." The picture frame with Mathias and the other Scandinavian countries in the living room flashed in her head. She feared for the worse when it came to 'interfering' with nations' relationships. _If Mathias wasn't bonded with them any more..._

* * *

Mathias stiffened. He caught her slip. _Your family._ The Dane narrowed his eyes, and his mind went to the Nordics. It was true that he had and did miss them all, but he just no longer felt the nagging desire to be with them. He shook his head again. "We Nordics hang when we can. And I doubt they're really missing me all that much-besides, I know they had some plans for the week." He smiled, though his eyes expressed something else. He laughed again and continued down the road, the Hungarian's land nearby. "Don't worry about it. Please."

* * *

The Hungarian _was_ going to continue to bother him about the Nordics, but that added 'please' simply struck her too well, causing her gaping open mouth to shut quietly, though with some frustration. He sounded so strangely _vulnerable_ that it seemed as if he was asking her to stop just so that they could enjoy themselves. _Oh, Mathias, maybe I shouldn't have met you again..._ She shook her head to rid of the negative thoughts, then scanned their surroundings to try to figure out where they were; though she didn't travel north often, Elizaveta did know this path well enough. Her eyes then moved over to the GPS, which had correctly mapped out their location. "We're pretty close by," she noted.

* * *

Mathias was glad that Elizaveta left the topic of the Nordics and his well-being alone and continued to drive, perking up at her words. "Yeah-I can see the signs." Though not proper signs, several poles bordered part of the road ahead, painted with the Hungarian flag. The GPS started to pick up their exact location, and directed Mathias where to go. The Dane carefully left the road to enter into public view, though thankfully saw no cars around. He turned up the air conditioner in the car slightly, already feeling the warmer atmosphere of the more southern nation. He glanced at the Hungarian before speaking: "So what exactly is the plan?"

* * *

"We're going to my house so that I can change first," Elizaveta said, even if Mathias had known that beforehand. She eyed the poles covered in red, white, and green stripes as she continued, "Then we'll be going to a pedestrian street called _Vci utca_. It's a lot like _Strget_; we could go there if you like." A smile enlightened her face. "Also, I'd like to show you some places around Budapest. Luckily, it's not as large as Copenhagen and the distances between the things I want you to see are within pretty close range of each other."

As the light and heat passed through the windows of the car, Elizaveta felt the surface of her skin warming up slightly and entered an area that she was far too familiar with. With a thought popping up to mind, the Hungarian turned to face Mathias. "Do you want to eat first or sightsee first?" This time, _she_ was the one who was going to ask him questions.

* * *

Mathias nodded as she spoke. _Like_ Strget, _huh?_ The Dane couldn't miss the happy beat to the Hungarian's words, and smiled as she talked about the sights she wanted to show him. He blinked at her question, and pondered on it for a while. _Oh man, she's going to get back at me today, won't she?_

"Sight seeing." He confirmed. "We just ate a late breakfast. We can eat in between at some point." The Dane turned down a familiar road, and sure enough, spotted Elizaveta's house. It's rather homely appearance contrasted the urban and contemporary style of his own residence, and he was secretly glad-it gave him a different feeling and vibe then Copenhagen, and he was always up for experiencing something different.

* * *

"Alright then." Elizaveta was delighted to see her small, tranquil home again - and luckily all in one piece, which signified that no one declared war on her or anything during her absence. It was more relieving than it sounded. Her back then flattened out, straightening herself up, so that she could take a glance at her porch, wondering if there were any letters from a certain person; her eyes struggled for a moment to look at her front steps until Mathias drove close enough to her house. _Nothing there,_ Elizaveta thought, sighing quietly, though it didn't really free her of her concerns of Roderich. The Hungarian then relaxed back into her chair, waiting for Mathias to park his car. Forgetting to consider him, she told the Dane, "I'll try not to take too long."

* * *

Mathias finally parked at her home, shutting off the main engine and only leaving the music playing. As the vibrations of the car slowly disappeared, he nodded. "Don't rush-take however long you need." He didn't want to now be a burden on the Hungarian, and couldn't help but realize that that was how she felt when she was with him these past few days. He relaxed back in his seat, unlocking the doors of the car. He figured he would just stick in the car-hanging out in her home would just present awkwardness, which he heavily wanted to avoid. "I'll just chill here."

* * *

Elizaveta thought that Mathias was being too generous with her to say that she could take her time. Normally, women would take forever in preparing themselves for a day - any day, really - and knew well that some men didn't have the patience to wait for their ladies. Fortunately, Mathias was an exception. Fortunately, Elizaveta could rush if she wanted to. Fortunately for Mathias, she was going to.

The Hungarian nodded to the Dane as she stepped out of the car, now breathing in her land's scent - it soothed her to inhale the familiar air that she had been living with for so long. Shutting the door to Mathias's car, Elizaveta took her time making her way up her home's doorstep, one hand protecting the flower from Tivoli and the other holding her bag, as she enjoyed the atmosphere and weather. Her eyes couldn't help but to look at her porch just to check again if Roderich had left anything, but as she had seen earlier, he had dropped off nothing.

Elizaveta unlocked and opened the door, in which she smelled more of her own aroma flooding her nostrils. _Had I been away for that long to be able to detect my own scent?_ she wondered with amusement. Half closing the door as she slipped off her boots and walked into the house, Elizaveta headed towards the stairs to get to her room. However, her eyes had came upon the Viking ship model that Mathias had given her long ago while ambling down the hallway, and she halted in her steps. As she stared at the toy, her brain was somehow able to remember what had happened the day Mathias gave that to her: if she recalled accurately, Tino and Eirik seemed to be against the Dane in handing her the souvenir, as they were claiming that he was doing that as self-promotion. However, Mathias was tall enough to reach out his arm to her, the ship sitting safely in his palm, as he happily said, _Here, take this!_ For whatever reason, Elizaveta accepted the offer anyways...

_I'm killing time as it already is,_ the Hungarian thought, which kicked her back to focus. Her feet continued moving on, up the stairs, and into her room, setting her bag and flower aside and changing quickly into casual wear. Though she had much to choose from, Elizaveta picked out a random articles of clothing - a grass green shirt that had layers to add to the fashion, a white cropped jacket left unbuttoned, and skinny navy blue jeans. (She figured that if she was going to go horseback riding, she shouldn't wear a dress.) And as she usually did when she went out in the public, Elizaveta snatched a cape with a rather large hood and twirled it around herself, though kept the hood lowered. It clashed greatly with her clothing style, but she needed it for avoiding the public well.

Dashing out of her room, Elizaveta found herself swiftly running back towards her room, though this time ran into her bathroom. _Out of all things, I forgot to brush my teeth..._ The Hungarian swiftly did so, but then another thing hit her - while tidying up her smile, she retreated to her room to retrieve the red and white flower, grabbed the smallest cylindrical container she could find, filled it up with water for the flower to flourish in, and set it on her table in her room where it could absorb sunlight daily. _It probably won't live for very long, but I'd feel bad if I just threw it away._

Finally, after gargling her mouth with water and running a few brush strokes through her hair, Elizaveta returned outside in sandals, locking the door before leaving. She power walked over to Mathias' car, then hopped back inside. Rebuckling herself, she halfheartedly smiled and murmured, "I hope that didn't take too long; I'm ready to go."

* * *

_**A/N: **_

_Heh, this chapter is so cute. xD_

_There's lots of song references in here. We suggest that you look at the translations of the songs here (without the spaces, of course) _http : / www . noside . com / nsd6055note. html

_They're all sang by one artist (Sorten Muld), as you can see. xD_

_Roselil Rose is the song that Hungary wakes up to._  
_When she waits for Denmark to get ready, she is listening to Ulver._  
_In the car, Denmark turns on Længe siden._  
_That single line of Danish a bit after that is from Ramund._

_The song excerpts we included connects a lot to the RP/FF. c: (Can't stop listening to the songs, either - it's so relaxing! )_

_This chapter is a little boring, but at least cute, as we mentioned before. Don't worry though, we can promise you that we'll make it up with good stuff in the future. ;D_


	21. Chapter 20

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 20**

* * *

As Mathias saw the Hungarian disappear into her house, he pressed himself against the car seat, tilting his head up to look at the ceiling of the vehicle. He increased the volume just a bit, allowing the car to vibrate gently to the beats of the music. It was calming, and he found himself nearly dozing off as the mystical voice and instrumentals became a lullaby. He let his mind wander, not sure at this point if he was dreaming or if he was actually thinking. _Where are we going from here?_

The Dane was not talking about traveling to Budapest but rather the relationship that he and the Hungarian held. Elizaveta had expressed her feelings towards him the night before, confirming that the two had been feeling the same way. His mind then went to the Nordics, to their reactions, and ultimately to their support. _Your family._ He though of Elizaveta's "family"-Ludwig, Gilbert, Vash, Lili..._Roderich_. And of course the Italian brothers, whom he knew she had nurtured, acting as a mother-like figure for the two, especially Feliciano, when they were young. But as he thought about it, he realized something-the Germanic family was not as nearly as close as the Nordics. Sure, they had had their fights and battles and moments where it seemed whatever relation they had would fall apart, but they had been able to stick through it, and the reunion he had with them the other day proved it.  
_Does Elizaveta feel close to the others?_

The Dane shook his head, and finally lifted his head, staring at the steering wheel. _What would have happened if I never made that walk down here?_ He then snapped into attention at the sound of a door closing, and looked up to see Elizaveta making her way back to the car. Mathias caught his breath momentarily, not used to seeing her wearing anything beside her dress. _She looks amazing._ Her jeans showed off the great shape of her legs, too, and he had to force himself to fiddle with the GPS so that the Hun wouldn't notice he had been staring at her. When she opened the door and hopped in, he smiled. "No, not long at all." He started up the car again, and departed the Hungarian home.

* * *

Elizaveta smiled once again. "Good." She peered over to the GPS, remembering that she was the one with the directions in mind. Seeing that the screen seemed ready to pick up yet another address, the Hungarian spoke in her native tongue - which she was very happy to do, as she was had spoken English the past several days and was surrounded by the Danish people -murmuring, "_1055 Budapest; Kossuth Lajos __tér__ 1._" Waiting for a response from the navigation system, Elizaveta stared at it until the screen changed and once again drew out the directions for Mathias. "Oooh, so it recognizes accents too." She chuckled, tugging at the cape around her from the inside to tuck it in closer to her.

_He's bound to like what I have for him,_ Elizaveta thought, displaying her happiness with a smile.

* * *

Mathias listened carefully as Elizaveta told the GPS the next address. Her native language rolled off her tongue as she spoke, and he smiled at her comment. "It's the best of the best." He followed the directions the GPS system had mapped out, and allowed himself to look around. He could feel the warmth radiate off of everything he saw, giving the land a very welcoming and cozy feel. He saw the city of Budapest lying ahead of them, and attempted to spark what memories he had of the capital. "It's beautiful." He murmured.

* * *

The sight of her capital began to boost her pride, as there was much to remember about this city - the heights, the downfalls...but mainly the peaks. She watched them drive down south, parallel to a river that sparkled brightly underneath the sun. Enormous green fields stretched across to the horizon, with puffy, cottony white clouds watching the ground from above; eventually, houses zipped past them, most of which were crowded and hidden in a range of trees. Elizaveta, during the entire ride, wore a smile, admiring her city once more; though she had much to go through as a nation, it was rewarding when she knew that her people were flourishing and living.

"If you visited Budapest before, I don't think you've been given a proper tour," the Hungarian laughed, facing the window beside her as she spoke. "This is the Danube River. It's Europe's second longest river - you should have crossed it at least once in your life, though you may not have known the name."

* * *

Mathias had to do his best to keep his attention on the road as he drove, though anytime he had to stop, he made sure to look around. The vibe of the city was different from Copenhagen, and he enjoyed it. He looked to the window by the Hungarian, nodding at her words. He laughed. "I've crossed so many rivers, oceans and seas, I don't know what's what anymore." He smiled. "But I'm sure I have, I know the name."

"_Arriving at destination._" The GPS chimed. Mathias looked up, wondering where exactly Elizaveta had decided to head first.

* * *

Elizaveta chuckled at Mathias' words. "I could imagine." She shot a stare at the GPS as it notified them that they were nearly there, but peering out the window, she knew well that they were already there - a massive building, that much appeared to be a palace or castle if anything, towered above some distance in front of them, and was covered with mahogany colored rooftops; it seemed as if it wanted to just hurl the cars ahead of them into the river to the right of them, as it was sitting close enough to the Danube itself.

"This is the Parliament Building," the Hungarian introduced the Dane to the structure, as if it was a person. "It's our largest building and the second largest Parliament in Europe. If you want to, we can go inside; I recommend that you do." A grin decorated her face before she glanced around. "If you merge into this lane on your left, there should be a parking lot."

* * *

Mathias stared up at the Parliament Building, which had a regal air to it, dominating everything around it. "Wow," he murmured. Seeing the Hungarian excited to show him inside, he nodded and did as she said. He nearly groaned when he saw the parking lot though-from the look of it, getting a parking spot would be difficult. But just to their luck, someone had decided to leave, and before they knew it the Dane zipped into the spot before anyone else could take it. "Hah." The Dane grinned. He shut off the car and hopped out, waiting for Elizaveta to follow suit before locking it up.

"Lead the way." Mathias waited for the Hungarian to begin their tour.

* * *

After stepping out of the car, Elizaveta tied her hair up into a tight but neat bun with the single hair band she had, and slipped on her cape's hood, now masking majority of her face and body. She hoped that Mathias would understand why she was doing this and wouldn't question her about it. Her eyes darted around to scan the area, and spotted what she was keeping a lookout for: the homeless. There was one standing beneath a tree not too far away, but still a long length away. Like most homeless, he had several bags with him, though could barely see it as he and his belongings almost camouflaged with the scenery. For some reason, most homeless recognized her, not just the elite, and would often ask her for some spare change. As much as she wanted to help them, since homelessness was a major problem in her country, Elizaveta didn't want to risk her nation being in debt.

"This way," she beckoned, not walking to the side of the building adjacent to the river, but the side away from it. The Hun quickly though calmly made her way to the entrance, avoiding as much attention from the tourists and pedestrians as she could while leading the Dane to the building. Elizaveta noticed that some gave Mathias a glance, but luckily went back to what they were doing after having lost interest. She uttered rapid Hungarian quietly to the one of the staff members that led the tours for the visitors, who seemed to nod in shocked comprehension, and moved aside for the two nations to enter.

"Let's go," Elizaveta urged gently.

* * *

Mathias watched how Elizaveta covered herself with the cape, and couldn't help but wonder if it had been easy for her people to recognize her that she had to hide her identity. He himself felt out of place, and was tempted to pull up the hood of his own shirt, but decided to wait. After all, he hadn't been given any trouble yet-sure, a couple of people had stared at him, but that was typical and something he was used to for being tall. He also took note of the Hungarian's apparent avoidance of the homeless beggars who were on the streets, and he shook his head, knowing well the position she must find herself in if they _were_ to notice her.

As Elizaveta talked to the staff member, the Dane stole a glance back, making sure he had locked the car. At her words, he nodded and followed her carefully. _As long as we're not confronted like back in_ Kbenhavn...

* * *

The Hungarian waited for the Dane to catch up to her before opening the door and entering the building. The introductory room was quite spacious and grand, giving off an aristocratic, political air and needing many tree-like lamps to remove any darkness that lurked in the room; stairs that encompassed from one side of the room to the other awaited them, in which Elizaveta was not a bit hesitant to climb up, taking her time to ascend. Above on the ceiling, frescoes watched over them, and up ahead - though barely seen from where they were - a small statue of a man resided in a wall niche.

Elizaveta turned to face Mathias, grinning. "So how do you like it so far?"

* * *

Mathias followed Elizaveta into the building and thought he had stopped breathing for a moment. _Damn, and this is the Parliament building?_ Everywhere he turned he saw gold-it decorated the full length of the walls, the fixtures, the frescoes, _everything._ He had to snap out of his daze to follow the Hungarian up the stairs, though took his time to look around, examining the spacious and regal room. _This looks more like an entrance to a royal castle..._

At her question, the Dane managed to tear his gaze away from the many designs on the ceiling to smile at the Hungarian. "It's amazing, no doubt about it." He saw some people walk by wearing business suits and speaking rapid Hungarian, their expressions grim. His eyes went back to again look around the grand staircase, his eyes resting on the small statue. He couldn't help but laugh quietly. "Who's the show-off again?"

* * *

Elizaveta eyed the businessmen cautiously and discretely, hoping that they wouldn't recognize her - majority of the high class was able to. However, she was lucky as they walked by, not even bothering to glance at her, and sighed in relief. "I'm glad that you're reacting that way. With Copenhagen, I thought that you wouldn't be amazed by anything." She laughed, then smirked. "If you're going to call me a show off, I may as well call you one too. Then we'll both be show offs."

The Hungarian continued up the stairs until the two of them approached an even more massive section of the building. The roof was dome shaped, sparkling and glittering in yellow light. Statues and the coat of arms of many people, apparently rulers at a closer look, guarded the room. She stopped and stood beside a pillar, watching the tourists lean their heads back to admire the dome.

"This is the Dome Hall," Elizaveta told the other nation, not saying much as she believed that the sight of the Dome Hall spoke for itself, then glanced around. From her looks, she seemed to randomly pick one door of the many lined up along the wall, but the nation knew what she was doing. Her eyes widened as the businessmen from before shuffled through the door she had chosen, in which a sign on the door indicated that the room was temporarily closed off to the public. Elizaveta debated at first to follow them, but didn't change her mind - the men looked rather distressed and she wondered what could be going on. She allowed the Dane a minute longer to survey the room before walking off to her desired door, motioning to Mathias to move on.

* * *

Mathias laughed. "Copenhagen and Budapest have different styles-of course I'll be amazed." He returned the Hungarian's smirk with a sly grin. "Fine, sounds fair to me. We're just a couple of show-offs." The Dane followed Elizaveta up the rest of the stairs, and upon entering the Dome Hall, his eyes automatically lifted to the ceiling. "Wow," he murmured under his breath. His eyes traced the patterns of the dome above him for a few more seconds before he brought his gaze down to look at the rest of the room. The statues stood erect, giving off a vibe of nobility.

He then noticed the several doors in the room, and before he could wonder which one he'd be going through, Elizaveta was already motioning to him. When he looked past her he saw the businessmen from earlier. Mathias had initially paid no attention to them, but now on closer examination it seemed something was wrong, or upsetting, to them, and the door they entered had been marked for no entrance. _Is something going on?_ Assuming the Hungarian was also interested and for that reason had picked the door, he quietly followed, though as he walked he caught some more stares from various people. Since tourists were a plenty, however, he didn't stand out, but pulled up on his hood anyway, especially if they were walking through that door.

* * *

Elizaveta strode into what appeared to be a lengthy, hallway like lounge - the pillars here had even more but smaller statues surrounding each of them and between the pillars were velvet-colored sofas for visitors or business people to rest on. In the center, a circular couch with another tree-shaped lamp planted in it lay forlorn in the room. The light filtering through the numerous windows served the lamp to be useless, though it would serve of some use during the night time. The businessmen quickly made their way across the empty room, ignoring the elegance of the room as they had seen it once too many, and disappeared into yet another room ahead of them.

Elizaveta couldn't help but to worry about what was happening; she was aware just from the appearance of the men that there was a meeting going on and was concerned enough to want to find out what they were discussing about. Though Mathias could listen in, Elizaveta knew that he wouldn't be able to understand her language, so he wouldn't cause any harm at all while staying with her. A little too focused on the men rather than showing Mathias around, she eventually crossed the room at a faster walking pace and remembered to look behind her once to make sure the Dane was on her tail, urging him, "Mathias, this way."

* * *

Mathias stared down the long corridor as they entered it. _Wow, she really loves gold, huh? Or maybe it's just because it's Parliament..._ He enjoyed the splashes of other colors-red furniture, black and green patterns in between the gold, and the sunlight that found its way into the corridor through the many windows gave it a very warm and elegant feel.

He noticed Elizaveta staring at the two men, who seemed to be rushing to a conference of some sort, and as the Hungarian walked quickly after them, he figured she really wanted to know what was going on. _I do too._ He was also tempted to sit in one of the velvet seats, but decided against it, as Elizaveta was making her way, fast.

* * *

Upon opening the next set of doors and before even looking through, Elizaveta picked up one dominant voice ringing through her ears, with several background conversations underneath that leading voice. She further widened the opening between the lounge and the next room, which was revealed to be a conference room that looked much like an auditorium, with rows and rows of seats arched in to face the center and front of the room. The men that sat in the chairs had their backs facing the nations, busy scribbling down notes onto paper or too absorbed into what the speaker on the podium had to say.

After Mathias came in, Elizaveta quietly shut the door, though straightened up significantly at the man's words. _Are you_ kidding _me? He's at it again?_ Her eyebrows knitted as she continued listening, until the speaker lifted his head up to see Elizaveta and Mathias standing in the doorway and halted talking, staring at the both of them. The man seemed to ask a question to the audience in Hungarian, in which most of the people turned around in reaction.

The Hungarian lowered her hood to unmask her identity and her serious face. Some rose in reaction and the murmurs among them increased in volume, with an occasional "_Magyarország__!_" escaping out from one of their mouths. Elizaveta sighed, signaling the people in the room to sit back down. She waited for them to settle down before significantly raising her voice, "I'm sorry to interrupt. I was giving Denmark-" -here, her hand gestured to the Dane- "- a tour of Budapest, as he has not visited in a long while."

The man at the podium bowed lowly in respect to the nation, answering in English for Mathias to understand him. His Hungarian accent tinted his English. "No, no - I'm very sorry, _Magyarország_. Denmark, I thank you for coming today." Again, he bowed. "I hope you enjoy your stay here."

The nation put on a forced smile, grateful for his words. "Please continue," she urged, in which the speaker then switched back to communicating in Hungarian. Quietly, Elizaveta murmured to Mathias, "If you can't tell already, this is the conference room. They're..." She trailed off, as she was distracted by getting sucked into the conversation.

* * *

Mathias stared at disbelief at the conference hall. Sure, its seating arrangement was the same to his own Parliament's building, but the interior design and outright architectural aspects of the room he was in was something else. The same pattern of gold lay within, but a mix of wood and colors of orange and red made the room inviting instead of intimidating. He wasn't too big on the style of design-_so traditional_-but it definitely was remarkable.

He tensed at the reactions of the various people in the room, who automatically recognized Elizaveta. _Well, they should..._ After all, it was the government of the nation. He straightened up as the Hungarian introduced him to the crowd. The Dane nodded to the man at the podium. "Thank you, sir. I hope I am not intruding in on anything." He nodded to several others who acknowledged him, and then stood quietly. Mathias turned to the Hungarian as she spoke, but unfortunately lost his translator as she became engrossed in the topic. He had noticed that when they first entered the conference hall alone something was bothering her. _Let's hope it's nothing too serious..._

* * *

Elizaveta then knew exactly what was going on; she stared blankly for a moment, letting the information sink inside of her, before looking up at Mathias. She at first hesitated to share the knowledge she had been given from the meeting to the Dane, leaving her mouth gaping open a bit, then decided to tell him - but not without leaving the room first. Elizaveta nodded to one of the men at the podium, who had an eye on them, to signify that they were leaving before retracing her steps and taking Mathias back into the lounge. Once back into the previous room, she quietly shut the door, glanced around, then turned to Mathias. Even if she was safe from any eavesdroppers, Elizaveta kept her voice low.

"...Do you know Slovakia, the country north of here?" she began, staring intently into the Dane's eyes. Not waiting for an answer, Elizaveta's eyes turned away from his as she continued after a short pause, "They...well, he...has been causing more problems for us, if I could simply put it."

* * *

Mathias allowed himself to be led out of the conference hall, though the corridor felt more empty than it initially had as doors on both sides had been closed. He then turned his attention to Elizaveta, who had a tinge of worry in her eyes. _Slovakia? Emil?_ The Dane nodded. He didn't know the nation all that well, but he knew him-after all, he had seen him at countless EU meetings.

"Yeah, I know him. Emil Cesnik, right?" The Dane pondered briefly-now that he thought about it, he always had seen some tension between the Hungarian and Slovak. The two seemed to have often gotten into arguments or disagree at meetings, and it didn't help when Romania joined in. It was worse when it triggered or added to other disputes, which would end up leading to chaos and a large group of very frustrated Europeans. Being a strong supporter and participant in international peacekeeping, Mathias perked up.

"Problems? What kind of problems?"

* * *

Elizaveta nearly flinched upon hearing the Slovak's name alone. Her hatred towards the nation never seemed to die away - they have had so many problems, especially recently, regarding racism. That was the topic that was always brought up whenever it came to the Hungarian and Slovak. "Yes, that's his name," she confirmed, rather unhappily. Her head began to form a headache and her voice lowered. "He's been taking action against the Hungarians in his country - he doesn't approve of them there. But that issue has been around for a while already; what they were discussing about in the conference hall was that Emil isn't accepting the dual citizenship policy we plan to adopt...for his nation, at least. I'm not sure if he's being sexist as usual, but..."

Realizing that she had gone too far, Elizaveta cut herself off once again, her eyes widening slightly. "Oh, I'm sorry. I really shouldn't be talking too much about that. I'll move on with showing you around the Parliament building." The Hungarian twirled around to head back into the Dome Hall with a smile that indicated that she was doing her best to shut her mind away from her problems.

* * *

Mathias listened carefully to the issue regarding Hungary and Slovakia, and he couldn't help but slightly frown. _She really seems to hate him...and vice-versa._ Just the idea that a nation would deny another from adopting a dual-citizenship policy seemed absurd. The only logic he could see behind it would be that a nation would feel like their population would be depleted if the opposing nation opened doors to their people. _Dual-citizenship, huh..._ The Dane was along with many European nations opposed to the idea of dual-citizenship simply because there were so many nationalities present in their continent that it was important to identify yourself as one as much as possible.

Snapping out of his thoughts, he slowly nodded to the Hungarian's words. He wanted to ask her more, but didn't want to add to her stress. "Don't worry about it. And all right, let's go." _How big is this building?_

* * *

Setting her hood back onto her head, Elizaveta wandered back into the Dome Hall, veering off towards another door. She was glad that Mathias didn't further question her about her problems with Emil. _He really knows me well,_ the Hungarian thought, rather happily - she felt her heart get somewhat bubbly from that.

Moving on, Elizaveta then eventually led the Dane to a crown that was sheltered behind glass; the crown was on a velvety red pillow and round enough to the point where it could be even called cute, shining a warm shade of gold underneath the bright light. Below the pillow was a sword, grayed and not so polished in appearance like the crown, and adjacent to the crown was an orb with a double cross sticking out from the top, also resting on a smaller red cushion. Remembering the historical values of these artifacts, Elizaveta felt another feeling of glory surge through her.

"These belonged to Saint Stephen, who was our first king." She closed her eyes and smiled. "You can probably tell why this is so important to me."

* * *

Mathias examined the historical artifacts that the Hungarian had led him to. The crown was different from the ones his own kings had worn throughout the years, and the sword seemed to be dull, unused for centuries. He smiled at the obvious pride the Hungarian emitted as she remembered her past, awakening memories from long ago.

"Of course. I can see why it would be kept here." He could only imagine the level of security they had at the Parliament building. Mathias couldn't help but wonder if the Hun had kept something from all of her kings and leaders, though of course none as important as her very first one. He continued, though his voice was low so others around them could not hear: "Must have been a big day, huh?"

* * *

The Hungarian detected the Dane's voice change in volume, and simply nodded back with a smile. "Yup." Her memories seemed to attack her all at once, though wasn't bothered by it; after all, the memories were good ones and weren't meant to be frightening. Elizaveta then turned around, peering up at Mathias. "Let's go; I'm sure you don't want to stay in a government building all day. I can imagine you dying from boredom." She chuckled before walking through the hall and down the mighty flight of stairs to exit the building, heading back to Mathias' car. "Also, there's something that I think that you'd like to see."

* * *

Mathias laughed at her comment. "Oh I don't know, government buildings can be pretty entertaining." He teased, then promptly followed her down the stairs. He looked to her in interest as they exited the building, heading back to his car. "Oh really? Well then, let's see if you're right." He laughed, and made sure to carefully look around as they entered the crowded parking lot. Several others had glanced at the hooded couple, though eyes seemed to linger on the Dane. He pretended not to notice and unlocked the car, then paused, turning to the Hungarian. "...Do you want to drive? Since you know where you're going."

* * *

"Trust me, you _will_ like this next one." As they moved through the parking lot, Elizaveta had noticed more people shooting them glances, but also did her best to ignore them. Once at Mathias' car, she then waited for him to get into the driver's seat, but realized that he didn't get in right away. Elizaveta twisted around to look at the Dane, apparently at the same time he turned to face her. "Me? Drive?" The Hungarian couldn't believe it at first - he was entrusting her with his car - his lover, if she could tease him. _Well, he's driven me everywhere already, so why not? Plus, he can enjoy the sights of Budapest in the passenger seat._ "Alright then, if you really want to risk it," Elizaveta answered with a small smirk, accepting the offer and reaching her hand out for the keys.

* * *

Mathias nodded. "Yes. You, drive." He laughed, shaking his head. "Risk it? Something tells me you're not the best driver?" He teased her as he dropped the keys into her hand. The Dane was ready to open the door for her again, but stopped himself. _She'll end up killing me over it one of these days..._ He settled into the passenger seat, adjusting the seat to make space for his long legs, and looked around. It had been a while since he had been in the passenger seat of any car. He watched as the Hungarian settled into the car and then turned his attention to the street. "So where _are_ we going?"

* * *

Elizaveta chuckled somewhat darkly once the keys plopped onto her hand, finding it funny that Mathias began to believe that she was going to do something strange or unsafe. _It's very tempting, but I'll resist. I don't want to experience what it'll be like to get him angry._ Her other hand then reached the door of the driver's seat - without the Dane having it already opened for her? _Wow, really? For once? Finally, I'm not being treated as a princess. _

The Hungarian then settled in the driver's seat, adjusting the mirrors and seat to her comfort level, and powered on the engine. The vehicle's hum was much different than the vibrations she felt from her own car. Elizaveta snickered, "Don't get me wrong, but we're going to Matthias Church - Matthias with two 't's, though." Elizaveta then drove off, at first unsteadily because of the potential power Mathias' car had, but then adapted to it. She took him further south and past a traffic circle to cross the Danube River using a short suspension bridge. "I was thinking that you'd want to see it, since it pretty much has the same name as you."

* * *

The Dane couldn't miss the look of relief the Hungarian had when she found that she could open the door herself, and couldn't help but laugh quietly. He watched her carefully as she started the car-he trusted her, to say the least, but he was too attached to the vehicle to have any harm be inflicted on it. To _his_ relief, Elizaveta got the hang of the car quickly, and they were soon smoothly cruising through Budapest.

He turned to stare at her as she told him the name of their destination. _Woah, are you serious?_ Mathias laughed heartily, before throwing the Hun a smirk. "Matthias Church, huh? My my, didn't realize I had a secret admirer." He teased. Shaking his head, he looked out the window as they passed over the bridge. "He was one of your kings, right?" The Viking knew his history, and of course couldn't resist looking at any historical figures that had shared his name. Though he never had interacted with the Hungarian during that period, so long ago, he had heard of the king.

* * *

"Oh, shut it," Elizaveta muttered, pressing the pedal _just ever so slightly_ in reaction, causing the car to travel at a faster speed - the change was rather small, but still noticeable. _Oh, jeez, if he's going to do this to me while I drive, I'll kill the both of us._ Luckily, the Hungarian relaxed quickly and widened her eyes in surprise, glancing at him for less than a second. "Oh, so you do know a little bit about my history." Elizaveta grinned. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised to hear that out of you, though. But - that's right, he was one of my kings. Funny how you ruled over my country at some point in time," she jested. Within a few minutes, they arrived at the church; a tower stood out from the rest of the Romanesque structure, attracting a number of tourists roaming on the streets and in the cars.

Elizaveta found a car on the side of the street swiftly sneak out from its parking spot, in which the Hun slammed down the accelerator to snatch it before anyone else could. (Secretly, she, too, wanted to see how Mathias would respond to her sudden jump in speed and how he would freak out over his car.) With much skill, Elizaveta speedily parallel parked Mathias' car - with no harm done to it, of course. "...We're here," she eventually said, wearing a smile as she faced the Dane.

* * *

Mathias quickly picked up on the slight speed change, and it caused him to slightly tense up. But he tried not to show it-after all, he was a speed-demon, it was just the fact that _Elizaveta_ had control of the car...well, he didn't really want to think about it. He simply laughed in response, though threw her a smirk at her statement. "I seemed to have ruled over a great many places..." He paused, knowing his next few words would strike a nerve. "Hmmm, so I guess this means I own you now? Considering...didn't you have _two_ kings named Matthias?" He laughed, hoping the Hungarian would take it lightly.

When they reached the church, he looked up at the tower, muttering under his breath. "All of this to one guy? Wow." However, before he could say anything else he heard the _hum_ of the vehicle suddenly get louder as Elizaveta accelerated, sending vibrations down the car as she zoomed into the parallel parking spot. He stared at her incredulously. "W-woah, take it easy on the _car_! You're going to hurt its engine like that!" He pouted, then again looked out the window to see the many tourists flocking to the church. "I can see that..." He muttered under his breath.

* * *

Elizaveta laughed as well, both at Mathias' joke and his panicking over his car. _Pfft, hurt it._ "Yes, I did have two kings named Matthias..." She paused, grinning at a particular thought which she decided to tell the Dane, "But the Matthias represented by this church - his mother's name was Erzsébet Szilágyi, and one of his three spouses was Elizabeth of Celje. You should think again whether you own me or not." Elizaveta winked as she slid the keys out of the key slot and tossed it onto Mathias' lap, then got out of the car without waiting for a response from Mathias. The Hungarian then walked around the vehicle to a nearby parking meter to pay for their slot, slipping in some forint coins.

Another idea sparked into her head - Elizaveta turned around to face the passenger seat of the car, and bent down slightly to pop open the door. She then leaned gently against it, as to not make Mathias worried about the condition of his car. "Well, my king, don't you want to see your own church?" A sly smile crept onto her face, her eyes slightly narrowing as she stared down at the Dane.

* * *

The Dane laughed once again. "Oh no, his mother _and_ his wife? Yikes-the two scariest women in a man's life." He joked. Mathias blinked and stared at the keys Elizaveta had tossed onto his lap. Picking them up, he was about to open the door and get out when the door ran away from his hand as it approached the handle. He looked up at the Hungarian, a look of surprise briefly presenting itself before he narrowed his own eyes. "Oh, _very_ funny." _She really is out to get me._

Mathias got out of the car, straightening out his top, and decided to play along. He leaned in a bit, so that his eyes (which glinted with his mischievous nature) became level with hers, a smirk decorating his lips. "Why, of course-after all, a king like me is flattered that such a _darling_ would dedicate an entire church to me." He laughed and walked a few steps before stopping to turn and flash the Hungarian a grin, waiting for her to lead the way.

* * *

Elizaveta cocked an eyebrow. "Darling?" she muttered under her breath, then chuckled. Her eyes followed Mathias, who was wandering off, before returning to their normal size. She then moved herself off of the door, pushing it as she did so to shut it. "Alright, your majesty, I shall show you the way," Elizaveta said, her voice in a different tone of voice in order to achieve a respectful one, as she knelt down on one knee and had her right arm crossing over to the other side of her body, her other arm sticking straight out in the same direction. While on her knee, she tilted her head up just slightly, revealing her darkened eyes and smirk once again, then rose and slipped on her hood before she would get any of her peoples' attention.

Quickly, the Hungarian crossed the street, and reached the entrance to the church. She decided not to bother revealing herself and the Dane as nations to the employees this time, paying up for their visits, and went inside the building.

The interior was just one single, immense room, with many rows of church pews lined up from the entrance to the back of the structure. At the end of the church pews, an altar that gave the previous king recognition stood with a single light shining upon it, possibly the only source of light other than the sun's through the stained glass windows embedded in the walls. Elizaveta scanned the interior design before turning to Mathias, grinning as she asked quietly, "Well, your majesty, is this satisfying enough for you?" Her voice lost her reverential side, and now had a hint of sarcasm.

* * *

Mathias crossed his arms and peered down at the Hungarian as she knelt, raising her eyebrow. "You're awfully good at that." He returned her smirk with a sly grin of his own, then followed her promptly across the street until they had gone through and entered the church.

His pace slowed down great as he looked around, taking in all the design and detail, the way the lighting hit every thing...it was a pretty amazing structure. He turned to Elizaveta, detecting the sarcastic edge to her words. Mathias acted as if not to be impressed, shrugging. "I guess it's okay. Nothing special." He then flashed her a grin to show that he was joking. Walking a bit further into the church, he looked up and around some more. The Dane lowered his voice, much like back in the Parliament building, and asked the Hungarian: "Was he a good king?"

* * *

Elizaveta raised an eyebrow to Mathias' opinion about the church. _He must be kidding me - no, with that smile, he's definitely kidding._ "Oh dear, I guess I should tear down this place and ask them to build something better." She then glanced around to make sure that the public had not caught her words, and with no one around but the Dane himself, she knew she was safe. Her legs allowed her to catch up to Mathias, stopping to stand beside him as he gazed at the church; his question made her close her eyes and ponder about her past. Elizaveta chuckled, then answered, "One of the best - he's done so much for us that I could talk on and on about him, but I won't for your sake." She let out small laugh.

"He's almost everywhere in our folklore; that should say something about him. He was only fifteen when he was crowned king, which is pretty impressive...and speaking of which, Elizabeth died when he was at that age, too." Elizaveta grinned at the random facts she was throwing into her historical lecture, then made her way up to the altar (which took quite some time to do so) and prayed to give her respects to her former king.

* * *

The Dane shook his head. "Yes, seems like you'll have to tear it down. Pity." He quietly laughed and turned to the Hungarian. Mathias nodded as the she spoke. _Wow, so he really was great, huh?_ From the way she spoke and that look in her eye...she surely was proud of her past. He watched silently as Elizaveta made her way to the altar, himself standing where he was, again scoping out the church until she was finished. _A king who is even mentioned in folklore...crowned at the age of fifteen...well, King Matthias, I approve of us sharing names, even if you added an extra 't'._

It made him think of his own past...he was older than the Hungarian, by quite a few years. He had had so many different kings and rulers it was amazing how the nations had such good memories. One he could remember quite clearly was King Knud-the greatest king of the Vikings. He didn't let himself get lost in history though, instead focusing his attention back to his location, waiting for the Hun.

* * *

Her eyes, once reopened, came back onto the small altar. _Thank you,_ Elizaveta thanked him mentally, knowing that if it weren't for the king, she wouldn't be where she is today. The Hun turned around to search the area for Mathias, then quickly returned to him. "Sorry about that," she murmured quietly to the Dane. "Anyways, there's not much to see but this." Elizaveta turned around to check one of the windows for the time by measuring the color and intensity of the light, discovering that the dull orange-yellow glow it gave off signified the evening. "It looks like it's about time for dinner," Elizaveta announced, twisting her head back around to face Mathias. "Are you up for it?" _...And I just remembered, I still have to pull off something legitimate to get pay back...maybe..._

* * *

The Dane watched quietly at the Hungarian returned, the orange-yellow glow filtering through the windows accenting the church as well as her, giving it an overall majestic and almost unreal atmosphere, and causing a glowing circle that surrounded the approaching woman. He was so lost staring at Elizaveta that it took him a couple of seconds to respond. "O-oh, uh, it's fine. And yes...dinner sounds good. Looks like time passed pretty quickly." His gaze also went to one of the windows, thinking about how much time had passed exactly. _Times passes when you're havin' fun..._

* * *

Elizaveta stared at Mathias for his stuttering response, blinking once as she did so. She then glanced over to the altar, wondering if that could be the thing that made him so out of place. Again looking at the Dane, she grinned and teased, "What's up with you? Did you just see King Matthias' ghost or something?" Getting onto the tip of her toes, Elizaveta reached up to his head with an outstretched arm and ruffled his hair, then walked off to exit the church and to the Dane's car. _That expression was absolutely priceless...and I forgot to get my camera, again._

* * *

Mathias looked at Elizaveta slightly startled, then slightly pouted when she ruffled his hair. _How many times has she done that?_ Shaking his head, he followed after her, muttering. "_No_, I didn't see a ghost. And even if I did I wouldn't get freaked out about it...look who you're talking to!" He thrust his hand into his pocket to take out his car keys, and once they made it back to his car, he looked to her, as if analyzing the Hun as he twirled the keys in his hand. "I guess I'll let you drive again...but take it easy on the accelerator." With that, he tossed them to her, not bothering to wait to see if she caught them, and got into the car.

* * *

Elizaveta let her laughter trail as she walked down the street, then saw a pair of keys get tossed at her. She single-handedly snatched them with a stroke of her arm, her lips curling up into a smirk at his words. "Sorry; I will." The Hungarian hopped back into the car, turned on the engine (gently before Mathias snapped at her), and after peering at the rearview mirror, drove off. Elizaveta found herself needing to adjust to the different controls of the car again, but after a minute or so she became comfortable. She drove even further south and over the Danube River, using a different bridge, and occasionally glanced to her left to get a glimpse of the strangely colored water due to the sunlight.

"This is the Erzsébet Bridge, named after Queen Elisabeth when Roderich and I were married." A frown flashed on her face upon remembering the Austrian and their marriage - she still needed to talk to him. _You can deal with that later,_ she told herself. The thought of their marriage, however, seemed to be glued to her brain for a while, bringing back wonderful yet tragic memories. In an attempt to not make Mathias worry over her pause, Elizaveta continued with a low and grave tone of voice, "She was assassinated." That fact also made her recall even more painful thoughts, but with the several bad memories already in mind, she couldn't help but to say it. Her hands increased its grip on the steering wheel involuntarily, her eyebrows knitting.

* * *

Mathias rolled his eyes as Elizaveta climbed into the car, and only relaxed after it seemed she had gotten into the swing of driving the powerful car. He looked out the window, observing the ripples in the water as the sunlight fell on it, sending shimmers of orange and yellow and red and even a tint of purple across the surface of the river. The Dane listened again to what the Hungarian had to say, his eyes narrowing at the mention of the Austrian. He stiffened at the mention of the assassination, and turned to look at her. Mathias observed her for a moment, noticing her tightened grip on the steering wheel, her change in voice, and the expression adorning her face. _She's reliving memories, isn't she?_

Absentmindedly, his hand reached out to rest on one of hers, gently masking it. "I'm sorry." He said quietly, gently. Mathias realized then what he had done, and after giving her hand one last squeeze, he retracted it, his eyes drifting back to out the window. "Though it's controversial, one of my kings was assassinated." He paused, his eyes slightly darkening. He muttered, his voice low and cold. "Though he deserved it."

* * *

The Hungarian nearly jumped when Mathias made contact with her, hand to hand; he had broken her chain of thoughts and relieved her distressed brain with the heat his hand gave to hers. Her experience with Roderich, her marriage, and the fate of her queen swiftly disappeared from her mind. His apology, though pointless, grabbed at her heart and made her eyes temporarily stare down at their hands, happening to look at them right before Mathias drew his away. Eyes back on the road, Elizaveta continued driving silently and straight down a one road for a while, listening to the Dane's own history, then frowned in surprise. "Oh, really? Why do you say that?"

* * *

The Dane continued staring out the window, though eyes downcast, watching more of the road than anything else. His voice didn't change as he continued. "He was a terrible leader. He never followed through with what he said he would, and he would seduce and fuck any girl he met-didn't matter her age, status. He had no control over himself...no one could stand him anymore. And so...he was killed." He paused, and shook his head, trying to suppress his anger, not caring for his crude language. He then continued, though now his voice was quiet, though still cold. "His son wasn't much better." Another pause, not sure to say the next words or not. His next few words were barely audible. "...His son nearly brought my death."

* * *

The Hungarian was distracted for a moment, stunned by Mathias' sudden use of vulgar words, and found herself nearly slamming on the break once she realized that she was distracted - but seeing that there wasn't a car too close in front of her and the lights were green, Elizaveta didn't need to stop the car, refocusing on the road. "That's just..." She trailed off on purpose, deciding that it was better to keep her opinion to herself; Mathias probably knew what she was about to say, anyways.

However, Elizaveta was even closer to losing her grip on the wheel and simply letting her hands slip off when he told her that he nearly died. Her heart was almost torn out as well, suddenly imagining what the Nordics would be like today without the Dane, and of course, herself without him. Even if they just meet each other not too long ago, Mathias was someone she valued - just about as much as she valued Roderich. Luckily, Elizaveta was at a stop signal when the Dane told her about his near-death experience, but while turning into a different street, the Hungarian drove a few kilometers slower, lost in thought.

_One less nation in the world...how would that have affected us?_ Yes, they had lost a nation - a kingdom, if anything, really - and that was Gilbert. However, he was still alive today, as he and Ludwig were brothers and took care of each other, so it wasn't that much of a big deal that Gilbert's land was stripped of him; Mathias, however, probably had a larger impact on the world. _Where would we be today without him?_

_

* * *

_

_**A/N:**_

_**xNeyu: **Eeee, so much researching. _ I hope that most of the history of Hungary and stuff is accurate. (Much thanks to the Internet if it is.) Budapest is a very pretty place~ ;3; I'd like to go there someday. And during the winter or whenever, the snow seems to only make Hungary so much prettier. jskadlasdjfk _

_Also, that address that Hungary says is real. You can google it if you like. xD And in Budapest, I've read that parking is incredibly difficult to find, especially along the streets, so that's why you saw Denmark and Hungary racing for parking spots in this chapter, lolololol._

_I noticed that Matthias Church is actually undergoing renovation right now (edit: at the time of when we did this part, at least)! O: I decided not to put that in, because...well, it would cause some trouble for the two of them. xD I really didn't want to go through all of that._

_ANDDDD if you can't tell already, **Amerzt** and I have come up with an APH OC, **Slovakia**, who we named **Emil Cesnik**. (I hope the Slovaks out there are okay with that name. ) He was completely inspired by this news report about Hungary's recent plan for dual citizenship (yes, I'm talking about real life here). I've already come up with a design for him - I pray that I won't get flamed for it - and **Amerzt **and I have something up our sleeves for him. |D Ehehehehe. You guys shall see once we get into later chapters. There will also be an OC **Czech Republic**, and they'll both add to the plot line that we've finally settled on, haha._

_Once again, another boring chapter - unless you like historical (historically accurate?) chapters. c: Yes, you know you want to learn more about Denmark and Hungary. Hahaha._


	22. Chapter 21

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 21**

* * *

Eventually, the two of them reached a building that read "Rosé Restaurant" from the exterior. After parking the car (she was lucky again to find an empty spot nearby), Elizaveta walked inside and pulled down her hood, which, she realized, had been covering her head since they arrived at the church, and first surveyed the restaurant - the walls had a red, white, and pale yellow color scheme, with Gothic styled chandeliers and lamps in the walls. Slightly deeper in was a balcony built from dark wood, offering a bird's eye view of the restaurant on the lower level. A waitress approached the nation, speaking with a kind tone of voice in Hungarian, and Elizaveta replied with a smile, "_Kettőt, kérek__._" She then turned to Mathias, waiting for the Dane to catch up.

* * *

Mathias allowed himself to get lost in his own memories for a moment before shaking them away. He'd rather _not_ think about that dark part of his past...one of many, he realized, as it sparked several other memories from the past. _Snap out of it, Mathias._ He sighed, relaxing back in the chair, stealing a glance at the Hungarian. She had been silent after he said his last words, no doubt hearing them, and his glance confirmed it. She herself looked a bit lost in her own thoughts, and he decided to keep quiet, his eyes again looking out the window.

Elizaveta had parked and walked into the restaurant without a word either, and Mathias quickly got out to join her. He looked up and around the restaurant, not surprised by the theme. He pulled down his own hood, not realizing he had it on this whole time, and combed a hand through his hair. He timidly smiled at the waitress, who he could see had already greeted the Hun.

* * *

The waitress had noticed that the nation was waiting for her guest, and returned a smile to the Dane before taking two menus for them and leading them off to the balcony, going up a set of stairs. She took them to an empty table for two, each chair given a wine cup, a square plate, and utensils; a red candle sat between each side, dimly lighting up the restaurant with its soothing flame. Elizaveta settled down in one wooden chair as the employee placed the menus on the table; she questioned the nation in Hungarian again, in which the country answered with more Hungarian. The waitress perked up and smiled, nodding. "Welcome," the woman spoke in English, apparently at the request of the nation, to her guests once they both sat down. "Would you like a drink to start off, perhaps wine?"

Elizaveta had to stop herself from frowning at her suggestion. _I've had too much these past few days._ "No thank you; I'd like some water," the Hungarian replied, then looked over to the Dane to tell him to order.

* * *

The Dane allowed himself to be led into the restaurant, up the stairs. He couldn't help but stare at the table for a second before sitting down, settling himself in the seat. _How many dinner dates have we had now?,_ he mused. Mathias kept his eyes downcast and stared at the candle as he heard the two women converse Hungarian, though looked up upon the waitresses' switch to English. Hearing the Hun turn down the wine, he figured it safe to do the same. He looked down at the menu under the 'Beverages' section. "I guess since I'm here...I'll try the traubisoda." He looked at the description of the Hungarian soft drink. _Man, when is the last time I've had soda?_

* * *

"Alright, I shall be on my way," the waitress nodded, departing to retrieve their beverages. Elizaveta then gave Mathias a look, even frowning; she expected more out of him, even if she understood that he had enough consumption of wine recently. "Oh, so even after I said that you should try out our wine, you back out on it?" Elizaveta teased, grinning. "You can always try the wine I have back at my house, if you like." She paused in the middle of her sentence, remembering that it was rather late during the day. Shyly, the Hun asked, "It's going to be night time by the time we finish dinner...are you planning to stay here, or are you going back to your home?"

Again, it pained her to think of the Dane returning home - she would be alone, and she would have to return to her normal schedule of completing her work as a nation until she visited some other country or Mathias once more. Elizaveta had been so attached to the Dane, but one way or another, she would have to stop being so immature and move on with her life. _I've had plenty of days off too - I'm lucky that I haven't gotten called in._ "Oh, and I'm not asking you to leave or anything," Elizaveta insisted, waving her hands; the waitress returned as she did that, setting down a cup of water for the Hungarian, and a bottle of traubisoda and a cup of ice for the Dane in exchange for their wine cups. She nodded to the employee in quick thanks, who then left to give them more time to choose their meals. "I don't mind if you stay."

* * *

The Dane blinked and looked at the Hungarian, before a smile appeared on his face as well. "I didn't want to be the only one drinking it. But that sounds good." He nodded, then froze. It would be night by the time they left, and again they were presented with dilemma. In all honesty he _didn't_ want to return home, though he knew he would have to as Elizaveta would have to return to hers, both of them having their own duties to fulfill. But, _one_ more night couldn't hurt, could it?

"Well, to be honest, I'll probably be too tired to drive back." He averted his gaze, staring into the candle flame. "So, if you don't mind, yes, I would like to stay at your place. I'll head back tomorrow." It hurt him to say it, but he had to, and was once again wishing that the nations could act more as humans. He stared at the menu, and realizing he had no idea of what to get, he decided to repeat the previous night's events. "Order for me?"

* * *

Elizaveta smiled heartily; her heart jumped with joy when the Dane decided to remain at her home for the night...though she knew well that her heart would be torn by the next day, as Mathias was to leave, as he stated. _I'll just enjoy my time with him as much as I can._ "Alright then," the Hungarian nodded, agreeing with Mathias. Upon his question, Elizaveta laughed lightly as she replied an "okay", skimmed through the menu, and called over the waitress as she passed by. "I'll take the delicacies for the starter, the Hungarian style loin of pork, and spaghetti marinara."

The waitress quickly wrote down the order onto a notepad, then nodded and answered with a smile, "That shall be coming to you as soon as possible." Elizaveta returned a smile as well, then took a drink out of her water. Her mouth was still on the rim of her cup as she questioned, chuckling lightly, "Is Budapest boring you?"

* * *

Mathias listened as Elizaveta ordered, then watched the waitress walk off before turning his attention back to Elizaveta. He reached out to take a drink of the grape soda, though stopped upon her question. "No, not at all." He laughed in response. "I mean come on, there's a church here with my name, how could I find it boring?" He jested, then poured the traubisoda into the glass the waitress had given him. The Dane stared at it, lightly twisting his wrist to swish the liquid before taking a sip. The taste was strange and unique, and he took another sip to see if it changed at all. It fizzed and tickled his tongue, and the inevitable slight bitter taste from the grapes became present.

The Dane couldn't resist one more sip before slowly placing the cup down. He suddenly felt a strange...tingling?...feeling in his head. He shook it away, thinking it was just the new taste of the drink getting to him. Mathias looked up at Elizaveta, smiling. "Interesting." That tingling feeling again. _Weird._ And it wasn't as if the drink was spiked-no, this feeling was different from alcohol. Slightly shaking his head again, he tried to not think of it. _It's just...the drink. Yeah._

* * *

Elizaveta laughed once more. "I thought you were - sometimes when I think of Budapest, I tend to think that there isn't much to look at. Maybe I'm so used to my own capital." Again, her hand lifted up her cup to tilt down some water into her mouth, the ice temporarily clogging before her lips before setting down the cup. "But I'm glad you aren't." She distracted herself with her own thoughts while waiting for their food - if Mathias really was staying, she still wanted to teach him how to ride a horse. _And watch him struggle miserably,_ Elizaveta teased in the back of her head. Her attention then turned to Mathias as he commented on the drink, ripping her away from her chain of thoughts. She giggled. "If you say it's interesting, is that a good or bad thing?"

* * *

Mathias nodded at her words. "I tend to think of that of Copenhagen as well...it's just because, y'know, it's _ours_. You just get used to it." He smiled again, then looked down at the soft drink as the Hungarian asked her question. "Depends on the situation," he laughed. "In this case...it's a good thing." _At least I think it is._ The Dane couldn't resist another sip, the unique taste flooding his mouth more with more force than before, and as it rushed down his throat, the tingling feeling became more prominent.

He felt a strange feeling in his stomach, almost as if he was nauseous. Staring at the drink in surprise, he was about to say something when the nauseous feeling rushed up, and he suddenly felt...nostalgic. _Nostalgic, of what? Why?_ He stiffened, as his nostalgia brought back feelings and emotions and memories from the past. _What. . ._ His eyes darted up to meet with Elizaveta's, trying to keep his voice cool. "What...what exactly is this drink?"

* * *

Elizaveta nodded in congruence. _So he has that same feeling as well. I'm not alone._ "Good thing, huh?" She carefully watched him drink the soda again, detecting his surprised look. _Oh, so maybe he does like it!_ The Hungarian gave off a smile which quickly turned into a curious frown. "Oh? Traubisoda - it's just soda flavored with grape juice...from _saszla_, or Hungarian grapes." She reexamined the Dane's eyes - he seemed very serious and she received a different atmosphere from him. He seemed to be wondering about something different than what she thought it would be. Worry started to fill her brain.

"Here are your delicacies," the waitress suddenly came up to the two, setting down a small plate of what appeared to be miniature scones. Elizaveta, again, nodded to the server, murmuring, "Thank you." With index finger and thumb, she gently picked up one of the scones, taking a bite out of the starter meal, letting the taste of paprika and pork crackling sink into her mouth and startle her tongue. After swallowing, Elizaveta cautiously asked, "Is...something wrong?"

* * *

Mathias was too dazed at first to notice the waitress set the platter of delicacies on their table, and a hand went to his head, his eyes closed as his face was turned downward. "No, nothing is wrong, I'm ju-" He felt like he got hit by something. Behind his closed eyelids images flashed by-blood, someone yelling..._Berwald?_...more yelling, the sound of shattered glass, doors slamming, more yelling, the sound of metal striking against metal. . .

The Dane rested against the back of his chair, lying limp in his seat, his eyes dark. _What...what was that? What is it?_ He stared incredulously at the glass of the Hungarian soft drink, experiencing an emotional whirlwind. He finally managed to reach out and grab one of the scones, though he didn't notice his hand was slightly trembling. Mathias nearly dropped the food item as another wave hit him, this time leaving him with a mix of warmth and chills. In the end, he just stared at the scone in his hand, too bewildered and..._hurting_...to make sense of what was going on around him.

* * *

Elizaveta immediately dropped her half bitten biscuit and swiftly rose to her feet, her heart getting stabbed and skipping a beat. "Mathias?" her raised voice called out worriedly, louder than her usual volume; she was lucky enough to not attract the other customers' attention with her voice, as their chatter blocked away her voice. Realizing that he wasn't responding to her, her concerned eyes locked onto him, and was about to walk over to him until his eyes reopened and his rattling hand reached out for a scone. Slowly but reluctantly, Elizaveta sat back down into her seat, watching the Dane carefully. She was nearly convinced that the story that he told her earlier about nearly dying was jinxing him. _No,_ her heart wailed dominantly.

Her eyes then came upon the drink he had, and a sudden epiphany came upon her. _That's right! That drink - it can make people recall any memory from their past._ Swiftly, the Hungarian snatched away the drink and his cup of traubisoda onto her side of the table, as Mathias was not aware of the side effects it caused. "Mathias," Elizaveta called out again, her hands instinctively hovering over the table to gently hold his, masking the scone he held. Her eyes stared intently into his, trying to snap him back into reality. "I'm so sorry, but - you need to stop drinking this. Your memories will continue coming back to you if you do. It's something that this drink in particular can do - I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you." Seeing his distressed face was killing her internally, making the Hungarian want to hurt herself for not notifying him in advance.

* * *

Mathias thought he could hear a distant voice. _Elizaveta?_ He tried to snap out of it, and nearly did, until yet another wave hit him. Blood. Yelling. More blood. Chains. Screaming. More yelling. Crying. Pain. A lot of pain. Cut flesh. Suffocating. Metal against metal. Metal against...

He gulped, and the feel of the Hungarian's hands on his finally got through to him. The warmth from her touch surged through his body as he came back into his senses, the familiar setting of the restaurant appearing again before him, the candle's soothing flame rising up towards the ceiling, the smell of the food, the gypsy music playing. . .and Elizaveta, her worried green eyes more comforting than anything else he could possibly imagine.

He managed to choke out an "I-I'm fine..." His eyes then went to the drink that the Hun had taken away from him, his eyes now filled with fear, flinching away from it, but he couldn't help but keep his eyes glued to it. _Why..._ Why those memories? Why tug at memories that he had shoved to the farthest corner of his mind, not ever to see the light again? The Dane managed to slide his hand out of Elizaveta's grasp as both came to hold his head as he hunched over, the last of the memories still lingering before finally fading. _Why..._

* * *

"Mathias," Elizaveta murmured his name again, feeling the need to do so, as he didn't seem to return to his normal self. His words didn't convince her that well, either. Her eyes then narrowed to follow his gaze and one hand decided to retreat and take her cup of water, coming back to the Dane to offer the drink to him. "Take this."

_Did_ that _many bad things happen to him in the past?_ she wondered as she kept her eyes on him. It was difficult to imagine that he was able to obtain the title of being the happiest nation in the world if he did. Elizaveta suddenly remembered the Nordics, and recalled the time when she heard that he was fighting with them; he had missed a European Union meeting that day, too, along with the rest of the Scandinavian countries. A realization then came upon her: _him treating them as a family...was that a way for him to make up or even suppress all of the bad memories that clung onto them?_ She guessed so. There was nothing else that seemed more reasonable.

Elizaveta finally decided to grab the bottle and cup of traubisoda and hid out of Mathias' sight, placing it next to one of the legs of her chair. She shook her head, mainly at herself. _I should have known beforehand. Mathias...wouldn't have gone through this._ "I'm sorry," she whispered again, quieter this time, almost as if she was begging to be forgiven.

* * *

Mathias slowly got up, and shakily took the glass of water from Elizaveta, though couldn't bring himself to even take a sip, and ended up setting it down on the table. He closed his eyes again, trying to get a hold of himself. After back to breathing at a normal pace, he opened his eyes and looked up at her, shaking his head. "It's fine...it's not your fault." He was relieved to see that the beverage was no longer in his sight, and let a sigh escape his lips.

The Dane then took a small sip from the water before pushing it back to the Hungarian. A shiver ran down his spine. Realizing that she might very well be freaking out, he reached out now to grab the Hun's hands, forcing a small smile. "Really, it's okay. I've had to live through it once, another..." He paused and stiffened. "...Another time isn't...a big deal." His eyes momentarily clouded, and he shook his head vigorously again, trying to get any bad thought out of head.

* * *

Elizaveta watched Mathias struggle to control himself; it ached her to do so, as if she was repeatedly stabbed over, and over, and over...but she felt herself heal from her mental wounds as the Dane eventually managed to drink some water, but not as much as she would have liked for him to drink. However, a frown appeared on her face at his words - they angered her, though did well to keep herself composed. "Mathias," she stressed too many times now, her fingers tightening around his as her motherly personality overcame her, "another time _is_ a big deal. You'll live through the same hell all over again - it's just as bad as the first. Look, you still aren't talking properly; drink some more water."

Even now, it didn't seem as if he was in the best shape, but slowly turning back to normal was better than nothing. Her hand grasped the cup of water once more, further urging Mathias to engulf more of the liquid and believing that it was aiding him.

* * *

Mathias looked again into the Hungarian's green eyes, his body still slightly trembling, but forced out a laugh, as fake as it sounded. "I've been to Hell and back several times...this? This...this is nothing." Knowing that Elizaveta wouldn't stop until he drank the water, he took the glass from her, more firmly this time, and drank about half of it before putting it down. The water seemed to sooth his tensed muscles and he let out a final shaky breath before softly murmuring: "Don't worry about it."

The Dane then nearly jumped upon feeling a vibration in his pocket. _Goddammit._ He quickly reached into his pocket and took out his phone, upon where a flashing icon appeared on the screen. _A message...from Eirik?_ Mathias groaned at the coincidence, and thought about ignoring the Norwegian, but his fingers already opened the message before he could do otherwise.

_Hei Mathias. Haven't heard from you since that night. Don't tell me you've got yourself into more trouble? Valdi and I thought we'd come visit, so expect us tomorrow in Kbenhavn. Ses._

Mathias blinked several times while staring at the device in his hands. A surge of warmth passed through the Dane, washing away any terrible and painful memory that was still clinging to his mind. _That's right,_ a voice inside his head told him, _that was the past._ The simple message from the Norwegian was enough to get a small smile on the Dane again, and as he tucked away the phone, he laughed softly. "Really, Elizaveta, I'm fine."

* * *

As the Dane shifted his eyes to make eye contact again, Elizaveta felt shivers run down her body, finding his look a little frightening; his laugh, unnaturally done, startled her even more. She continued to stare at him, though with widened eyes - Elizaveta did know what he meant by bouncing back and forth between Earth and Hell, as she could say that she's been through that herself..._but treating it as nothing?_ she wondered. _There's something wrong with that._

Elizaveta nearly jumped as well from Mathias. Her eyes swiftly inspected the Dane to see what had happened, but calmed down and released a sigh upon seeing his phone. She picked up the scone that she had dropped earlier, eating the rest of it before snatching another one - if anything, as of now, it seemed as if eating was a way to relieve herself of the tension just now. Though Mathias' words didn't seem to alleviate her any further, she decided to give up comforting him. "Alright, if you say so."

Out of the corner of her eyes, the Hungarian then spotted the waitress with their meals, murmuring quietly in her language to point out which plate belonged to whom. The server nodded and set down the dish with a loin of pork and potato crisps in front of the Dane, while placing pasta on Elizaveta's side of the table. The aroma from both foods pleased her nose. "Enjoy," the waitress said with a smile. Before she left, Elizaveta requested for more water, in which the woman nodded, left, and returned to hand them two cups of water. "_Ksznm,_" the nation said, before turning back to Mathias. "I hate to intrude, but is there something important that's happening? If you need to leave early, it's no problem." She was curious if he had something urgent to attend to, though felt her heart sink from uttering that.

* * *

Mathias himself picked up the scone he had previously reached for, slowly biting down on it, thinking about how a small thing like a drink could spark just powerful memories. He simply nodded to the Hungarian, trying to show her that he was back to normal. He perked up as the waitress and server came to place their dishes before them, and he gave them both a smile and murmured a "thank you" in English. The Dane placed his napkin on his lap and picked up a fork to poke at his food, waiting for it to cool. _Pork. She knows me well._ His eyes looked up to stare at the Hungarian again, blinking before laughing softly.

"No. That was just Eirik-he and Valdi were just thinking of coming over tomorrow." He took a sip from his glass of water, thankful for its refreshing taste. "I can just head out tomorrow morning and be fine." The Dane's eyes lowered to the candle flame, allowing its glow and wave to entrance him. "You need to stop worrying so much," he murmured, not really to anyone in particular. He then took a bite of the loin and savored the taste, the unique spices flooding his senses. Looking up to the Hun again, he smiled. "It's delicious."

* * *

"Ah," Elizaveta replied, the image of both nations coming to mind. _That's right; he has to spend time with them too._ She suddenly thought of spending time with her own neighbors, like Lili, and if she needed to, Roderich. However, Elizaveta found herself to be somewhat...unwilling to do so? _Oh, the reason is obvious..._ And that reason was because she wanted Mathias to be with her. _...Of course._ Again, she had to remind herself that she had to stop being so attached to the Dane, which helped her say her next words. "That's fine with me."

Elizaveta finally grabbed her fork and snatched a small bundle of her pasta, raising the utensil to her mouth rather than bending down to the plate, and patiently ate one portion at a time. She then looked up at the Dane as he complimented the cooking and wore a grin. "Thank you," the Hungarian answered after swallowing some spaghetti, a proud vibe temporarily running through her veins. _Good, he likes it. He's lucky that it's not as spicy as his lunch that one other day._ She then returned to her food, occasionally pausing in between every fork to drink some water or wipe her mouth with a napkin; once finished, Elizaveta leaned back in her chair, waiting for the Dane to clean his dish of the food and killing time by skimming through the dessert section of the menu. "Would you like any dessert?"

* * *

Mathias continued eating at the Hungarian dish in front of him, and stole a couple of glances at Elizaveta as she consumed hers. Thinking of how he'd be leaving tomorrow, his heart ached. He hadn't realized how attached he had become to the Hungarian in the past couple of days, and would much rather spend more time with her than the others. However, that terrible trip into the past caused him to want to see the Nordics again as well, as if to reassure himself that everything was okay, nothing out of place. But even then, the amount of comfort he found in the Hun, just by being in her presence, was pulling at him, wanting to draw him closer to her. _You're losing your mind. _

The Dane finally took the last couple of bites of the dish, not too surprised that he was able to finish it all, and looked up at the Hungarian. "Sure," he chirped, wondering what the Hungarian had to offer. _As long as it's not something funky._ His eyes glanced at where the traubisoda had been sitting before, mentally cursing for reminding himself of it. As he waited for Elizaveta to pick out a dessert, he looked again to the candle flame, not wanting to seem strange for staring at her, though he found himself looking at her through the orange glow.

* * *

"Okay then," Elizaveta grinned, bobbing her head down once. Her eyes stared down at the menu, too absorbed into reading the list of desserts and thinking to notice the Dane watching her, and then finally choosing one, beckoned the waitress, who happened to be nearby. "Yes, would you like some dessert now?" the woman inquired.

"I'll have the apple pie, please," Elizaveta answered. Once again, the waitress went off to send in the order. She then set the menu aside, glancing at Mathias, who seemed to be following the gentle flickering of the candle flame, before eating another scone to satisfy her stomach while the dessert was being prepared. Silence fell upon her after finishing her scone, only able to stare at the small fire in front of her, watching the wax melt and the string slowly disintegrate.

The waitress soon approached them and placed a plate with apple pie and a dip that was made partially with liqueur, and another small tray with the bill. Elizaveta happened to ignore the dessert, grabbing the bill instead to read it over. "Go ahead," the Hungarian said to Mathias, allowing the Dane to take the apple pie to himself.

* * *

The Dane had been so lost between his thoughts and the flame that he barely noticed the waitress come and take their order. When he decided to steal a glance of the Hungarian through the flame again, he saw her looking at it as well. He wasn't sure how long he was staring, but managed to snap back into reality when the apple pie and dip were presented before them. Mathias blinked and picked up a dessert fork, seeing that she had offered the first bite of the pie to him. After swallowing his first tidbit of the pie (which he had tried with the dip, which was quite delightful) he looked to the bill in Elizaveta's hand. "Let me know how much my food cost." He murmured, and then took another bite of the dessert before offering it to her.

* * *

The Hungarian laughed. "Zero forints," she told him, wearing a smirk, before trying out the pie. As she expected, the dessert was sweet and full with the taste of apple - but she wasn't much in the mood for that much sweets and slid the plate back to him. "Have the rest. I'll be waiting outside." As discretely as she could, Elizaveta snatched the bottle and cup of traubisoda and zipped away with the bill, heading down the stairs and to the counter to pay. After a quick transaction, Elizaveta glanced up at their table to check the Dane, set the cup on a table that has yet to be cleaned, and tossed the soda bottle into a trash can on her way out.

_I'm not letting him see that drink ever again,_ the Hun thought as she frowned, making her way to Mathias' car. Realizing that she was the one with the keys, Elizaveta took them out to unlock the car and sat down in the driver's seat, patiently waiting for Mathias.

* * *

The Dane looked up at her in surprise, though his eyes soon narrowed. _Typical._ "Hey now, we had dinner for free, now I'm not going to let _you_ alone pay for this night." He watched her take a couple of bites before returning the sweet to him, and again looked up at her with widened eyes. "Wait wha-" Before he could say anything more, she had gotten up and dashed down the stairs. "Oh, great," he muttered under his breath.

Mathias forced himself to finish the dessert, as much as he wasn't in the mood for it, not wanting it to go to waste, and was soon down at the counter, throwing a glare out the door that Elizaveta had left not to long ago. He couldn't even leave a tip because he didn't have any forints on him. _Oh, well planned._ Sighing, he said a final "thank you" and "good-bye" to the employees of the restaurant and went outside.

He got into the car, though while glaring at Elizaveta the whole time. "Remind me to never let you keep the keys again."

* * *

As she heard the door to the seat beside her click open, Elizaveta put on a smile - though more of a smirk than anything. Her eyes then narrowed as she looked at the Dane, questioning with a not-so-innocent chuckle, "What?" Without waiting for an answer, the Hungarian slipped in the car keys to start the engine and return to her house that was north of Budapest, once again driving parallel to the river that intersected the capital to get there. _It's pretty late already, so going to_ Váci Utca _wouldn't be the best thing to do right now. Plus, with those women around those bars..._ She shook her head. _There's always another time._

Every once in a while, the Hungarian gazed through the window left of her and admired the sight of the city at night, with various lights brightening a number of buildings; they passed the Parliament building again on the way back, which appeared much more elegant than during the day with the turquoise lights; even the Danube river glowed with the same shade of blue-green. "True beauty is always unmasked at night," she murmured to herself, though lacking seriousness.

* * *

Mathias rolled his eyes. "You know what I'm talking about." He relaxed in his seat, again looking out the window, enjoying the night view of Budapest. _It really is a beautiful city._ He glanced at the Hungarian. _Though I shouldn't be surprised._ He returned to gazing out the window, a small smile adorning his lips. He absentmindedly drummed his fingers against the armchair, and caught his breath as he saw the lights across the Danube being emitted from the Parliament building. The hues of blues and greens melded together to bring a majestic aura to the whole area. _It's like being in a dream._ "You do pride yourself on beauty, don't you?" he murmured.

* * *

The Hungarian ignored the Dane's former sentence, but smiled at his latter question. "I do, but not as much as my history," she answered him as she drove them out of the central part of Budapest. "If appearance was my main focus, then I would have died long ago," she laughed, even if she shouldn't have done so, especially if they were discussing about Mathias and his near death experience just hours ago.

After some time, Elizaveta's home came into their view, and the nation parked the car close by her porch. She carefully turned off the car, shifting the gear into park, and again lightly threw the keys at Mathias. However, Elizaveta didn't leave his car right away; she rested against the chair, closing her eyes and recalling their time from Copenhagen all the way until now, enjoying the stream of good memories before reopening her eyelids and turning to smile at the Dane. "Well, I hope you got a good taste of Budapest."

* * *

Mathias laughed softly, disregarding the death comment. "True." He looked back as they left the lights and sights of central Budapest and drove into the outskirts, and soon the Dane saw the Hungarian's house ahead. He, too, relaxed back in his seat, gently picking up the keys and stroking the metal edge, momentarily lost in thought. He looked up to return the Hun's smile. "I did. Thank you." Mathias found himself gazing into her warm green eyes, the same eyes that he had stared into so many times now before this and had always seemed to comfort him. The pale moonlight barely broke through the clouds, only allowing various areas to be highlighted.  
Involuntarily, his body leaned forward, placing a light kiss on her lips.

* * *

_**A/N:**_

_OKAY, NOW SOMETHING INTERESTING IS HAPPENING. Haha. _

_Also, sorry if the fanfiction/RP seems to speed up - the dinner seemed to be really lagging to us. XD_

_About the traubisoda! We haven't tried it ourselves, but what's said about the drink is true. According to Wikipedia:_

_"The findings clearly showed, that there was a strong nostalgia for the drink among Hungarians who were teenagers in the '80s. Drinking Traubi evokes memories from Hungarian people's past, therefore a special importance belongs to this drink."_

_Thus explains why Denmark goes all "asjdfkaejfioaha". |_D;;

_**Amerzt:** And yes, Denmark has gone through a lot in the past...one of our Danish readers even said how bad the modern past (about last 500 years) has been for him that during that period he would have gone totally mental. D: _  
_**xNeyu**: Also, I hope that the Hungarian I used in there is grammatically correct and stuff. Can't trust Google Translator, though. xD _


	23. Chapter 22

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 22**

* * *

The Hungarian was just about to climb out of the car to head back to her home, her left hand reaching for the handle. However, Mathias had stopped her with something she didn't expect: a kiss. Her eyes widened, her body tensed, her heart was pretty much jump-started, her blood rushed, her brain clicked, and her mouth was trapped with his - all at the same time. However, she managed to find herself again, her muscles loosening, and gently returned the kiss as she shut her eyes, shutting away the moonlight to focus on the Dane. Elizaveta somehow felt warmth, affection, and yearning through his lips, which sent a pleasing chill down her spine, though his emotions seemed to overwhelm her to the point where she snapped open her eyes and abruptly drew away from Mathias, breaking off their kiss. She stared at him rather incredulously, a light shade of pink staining her face's skin, before shaking her head and nervously sliding out of the car.

_Dammit. I ruined it,_ she cursed to herself, her fists clenching as she shut the car door beside her and glared at the ground. _I...hope he didn't take that too personally._

* * *

Mathias hadn't realized what he had done until Elizaveta returned the kiss. _Fuck._ But it relieved him to feel her willingly comply, and found himself locked with her lips for what seemed minutes. He suddenly felt the warmth leave his lips as she suddenly broke the kiss, and the Dane mentally cursed. The pink shade of her cheeks however comforted him, showing that she wasn't angry. Mathias watched the Hungarian leave the car quietly, and slowly he himself got out, gently closing the door. He leaned against the car, his arms on the roof of the car, crossed, as he rested his chin on them, staring at Elizaveta on the other side of the car, whose attention was focused towards the ground. "Sorry." He murmured. _Not really._

* * *

"It's alright," Elizaveta replied a little bit too happily, putting on a smile as if nothing happened and twirling around to look at Mathias. She was then surprised that he was looking at her, as she thought that he was facing the other direction, but luckily didn't react to it; the Hungarian simply circled the car and walked up to her house's porch, only hearing the soft steps and noise that her sandals made and the crickets chirping gently in the background.

She stopped herself at her front door again, inhaling rather deeply to breathe in her scent and to ponder. _I remember when...I just led Mathias here, from the field._ Elizaveta then twisted her head around to her right, then to her left, examining her home and the flowers. _I invited him to lunch, and the walk here was rather awkward, since we didn't really know each other that well...it seems like it was years ago since then._ The Hun unlocked her door and stepped inside, kicking off her shoes, then beckoned Mathias inside with a wave of her hand.

* * *

Mathias' eyes followed the Hungarian as she made her way to the front porch. Slowly, he pushed himself off the car, his hand tracing lightly against it as he followed after her. The Dane was already flooded with her now ever-so familiar scent, and he paused before entering the household. He looked back towards his car, out to the road they had driven on, and then finally turned back to enter. He slid off his boots, straightening out the part of his pants that had been sealed under them. He closed the door and leaned against it, hands in his pockets, his eyes looking around the entryway of the Hungarian home. He had just been here a couple of days ago, but it had felt like ages. His eyes were led to rest on the clock. _Wow, is it that late already?_

* * *

"I honestly don't think there's much to do here at my house," Elizaveta chuckled, remembering the Dane's two houses. "It's not like you can tour around it." _And I don't want you to either,_ the Hungarian thought, remembering the various...things...in her room. Also, it was deemed improper to ask for a tour in Hungarian culture. She then slipped off her cape, revealing her casual wear that defined more of her body than the cape, and wandered into her living room to hang it. She switched on a few lights on her way there. "Well, I could show you my horses, actually - I _was_ going to teach you how to ride one. It's your choice, though. Oh - and would you like some wine?"

The Hun clearly remembered the day when the two of them both went out of hand with alcoholic beverages and told herself repeatedly, _That will not happen again. That will not happen again._

* * *

Mathias laughed softly, watching Elizaveta as she took off her cape and made her way to the living room. His eyes traced down her body as she walked, and had to refrain from thinking dirty thoughts. Pushing himself off the door, he followed her, and blinked in surprise by her comment. Before he could respond, she asked about wine. _Well, I_ did _promise her I'll taste it..._ Convincing himself that that was the reason he was accepting it, he replied. "Some wine sounds...great." He bit his inner cheek. _Not exactly how I wanted it to come out._

Then he laughed, louder this time, before flashing a smirk at the Hungarian. "How to ride a horse? I know how to ride one. Granted, I'm probably no where near as good as you are. I'm sure you've heard of the Frederiksborger..." His gaze skimmed over the various items found in the room, focusing more so on paintings, some of which seemed to tell a story of a horse rider. "I'd like to see them, though."

* * *

"Oh, do you really? Then I'll just show them to you...unless you'd like to ride them. I don't mind if you do, despite it being the night time," Elizaveta returned a smirk, the picture of the Dane on a horse entertaining her greatly, causing her to forget about the way Mathias accept her offer to her wine. "The wine can come later, then."

Her body then perked up at the familiar name. "And yes, I have heard of that name! Frederiksborger..." Elizaveta paused to think for a moment as she walked towards the entrance of the living room and towards the hallway. "Those have been here for a very long time, but now that I think of it, I haven't seen them around. Unfortunately, I don't own any, though I wish I did; they're gorgeous if I recall correctly." A smile appeared on her face. "Follow me."

She then walked out and down the hallway, heading to the other side of her house. Once at the end of the hall, Elizaveta opened a door to what was a small horse stall, which reeked of the smell of horses. At the most, the stall could fit only about five or so of the animals, but only two - one white, one black - occupied it.

"There they are; come in, Mathias."

* * *

"They are rare to see now, though there have been attempts at breeding more." The Dane replied. "And they are gorgeous." He promptly followed after the Hungarian, nearly wincing as he approached the door and was hit by the smell of horses. _It's been a while._ He walked in, his eyes settling on the two horses, who calmly stood, one pawing at the ground with its hindfoot as it bent down to get a drink of water. Mathias observed them from a distance, not sure if he should approach them or not. "They look strong." He murmured, and he looked over at Elizaveta. "Though I shouldn't be surprised."

* * *

Elizaveta stared at Mathias' feet, which seemed hesitant to walk in. She grinned, then decided to approach them first, heading to the white one first. "I'm happy that you said that they both look strong, because one _is_ stronger than the other." The nation bent over a wooden rail, slinging her arms over it, and openly called out to the white horse with a hand. The animal's ears twitched and nose huffed out air as it raised its head up, nuzzling at her fingers. She giggled, smiling at the horse, before turning her head to talk to the Dane. "This is the weaker one, a palfrey - you've probably ridden one of these before, because they're riding horses. She was given as a gift to me; her name is Leitha." Elizaveta then looked back at the horse and petted her, murmuring to her, "I want you to meet Mathias - don't get scared, alright?"

Leitha laid her head into the Hungarian's hand, closing its eyes; Elizaveta again shot a look at the Dane. "I said come in," she repeated, laughing.

* * *

Mathias watched the Hungarian make her way to the white horse and the way she soothingly and lovingly called out to it. _She looks so happy_. He suddenly snapped back to attention at Elizaveta's repeated command and laugh. "R-right." The Dane finally got his feet to move and walked to the white horse, bending slightly, hands on his thighs, as he got a closer look. "Leitha, huh? Pretty name." He then straightened back up and nodded to the Hun. "I have. A long time ago, yes, but I have." His hand cautiously reached out to stroke the horse's head, hoping not to scare it.

* * *

Elizaveta watched the interaction between man and horse - Leitha at first flicked her tail and ear at the Dane's touch, again huffing out a breath. The Hun quickly soothed the horse, patting her head again. "You're okay; you're doing well," Elizaveta murmured, slowly backing her hands away from Leitha. Once her hands no longer touched the horse, Leitha then opened her eyes, staring up at Mathias and examining his face before swaying her tail from side to side. Elizaveta smiled.

"You seem to have a golden touch there, Mathias. She already seems comfortable with you," Elizaveta said, then nodded to his earlier words. "And yes, it's a nice name." As Mathias was preoccupied with the white horse, Elizaveta cautiously made her way to the black horse, which had its head up and high, almost glaring at the two nations. Elizaveta began muttering to it in Hungarian, steadily raising a hand up to its head. The second horse stared at her hand until her hand made contact with it, in which the animal then stared at the ground, neither happy nor upset with the nation. She sighed in relief.

"This one over here is a destrier, the best war horse known in the Middle Ages-" The Hungarian cut herself off as the horse began moving its head forward towards hers, but she gently pushed it away, muttering a "no, Tisza" and continued, "They're very strong, so naturally, he's more powerful than Leitha. I've had him for a long time now, but even so, sometimes he doesn't along well with me. The saddle on his back hasn't been removed once - he was that difficult to control the first time I dealt with him, and I don't want to go through taking on and off his saddle again." Elizaveta then laughed and grinned, challenging Mathias, "Would you like to try riding Tisza?"

* * *

Mathias continued stroking Leitha, chuckling at the Hungarian's comment. "Golden touch?" The white horse continued to remain docile, and he wondered if it had ever given Elizaveta any trouble. It seemed to calm to have been a troublemaker, but he quickly saw what made up for it-his eyes looked over to the black horse, already sensing it's strength, especially from the way it was reacting with the Hun. "That powerful, huh?" He stroked Leitha a few more times before slowly withdrawing, instead walking over to where the Hun stood and stared at the horse. Mathias could see the strong muscles rippling through its neck. He turned to look at Elizaveta, slightly surprised, then smirked. "A challenge?" He pondered, measuring up the destrier in front of him. "Sure, why not."

* * *

"Apparently so," Elizaveta confirmed, chuckling. She glanced back at Tisza, who again had its neck and head erect, this time for sure glaring at Mathias - it seemed to frown upon the Dane's height, as it was used to the Hungarians', but still beamed out a sense of superiority over Mathias, purposely snorting at him and sending him a small breeze of air. Elizaveta detected this feeling and blinked. _...Oh, he's going to have a hard time with Tisza._

Her hand remained on the horse to secure it as her other unfastened the rail so that the horse could come out of its stall. The black horse seemed to make small steps from side to side as it was given some freedom, showing that wanted to know more about Mathias. Elizaveta, however, kept the destrier back with a hand on its neck, only allowing it to move a few steps closer to the Viking. This time, her other hand covered the Danes', again using the same approach with Leitha to calm it down.

"Slowly, Mathias - and I mean, _slowly_."

* * *

Mathias watched carefully as Elizaveta released the horse from its stall, but stayed in place, not wanting the horse to detect any hesitation from him. The warhorse was obviously eager-the Dane could sense it's ferocity as it glared at him. Mathias allowed the Hun to lead his hand to stroke the horse, which he did slowly as she directed, making sure not to startle the horse as his fingers approached its head. He felt its muscles tense, and couldn't help but admire the arrogant aura it carried. "Tisza." He said the name softly, as his other hand slowly reached for its neck, again, slowly. "What a nice name." His eyes locked with the horse's, and it almost looked as if it was mocking him. _Think you can handle me?_ The Dane smirked, softly laughing. "He's quite a charmer, isn't he?"

* * *

The horse seemed to react to his name being called, now wildly flicking its tail, and its legs begged to move more. Elizaveta hushed, murmuring a sentence in Hungarian again, then examined the position the Dane was in - his hands were now settled on Tisza, who was absorbing the different feel of his hands on him, though was staring intensely ahead. The Hun grinned and told the other nation, "Mmhmm." She whispered some more words of her own language to Tisza; the horse then shook its head a little harshly, blinking a few times.

"Alright, he seems ready to have you on his back. Since you already know how to ride horses, I don't need to direct you to getting onto Tisza, do I?" Elizaveta questioned, chuckling again.

* * *

Mathias nodded, keeping his eyes fixed on the horse. _Okay, let's see how this goes..._ The Dane slowly approached the side of the horse, still stroking its neck, absorbing its strength. _Here we go._ He then allowed his left hand to slowly trace along its back before grabbing the reins. His left foot slipped into the stirrup, his right hand grabbing the ball of the saddle, and in one quick movement he was on its back, his right foot slipping into the other stirrup. His hands quickly shot out to stroke the horse's neck again, still holding on tightly to the reins. Mathias sighed, glad he could still remember how to mount a horse. "Well," he murmured. "That wasn't too bad."

* * *

Elizaveta placed her hands on her hips, wearing a confident smile as she stared up at the Dane. "Nope, that wasn't bad at all." She then flinched back as Tisza neighed loudly, startling even Leitha on the other side of the horse stall, and Elizaveta swiftly dove in to assuage the destrier with her hands. She again held his head and stroked his neck, murmuring even more Hungarian. Luckily, the horse relaxed before he could do something to harm Mathias. "He won't listen to me if I speak in English," she mumbled to herself, then grasped onto the reins to lead the Viking and animal to a set of two doors, unlocking and opening it within a few seconds. The clear, starry, dark sky was now visible to them as cold air rushed in; Elizaveta inhaled her land's air before turning to Mathias, also noticing that the destrier was squirming a lot more than usual.

"Ready?" she questioned the man, stepping away from Tisza but keeping her hands on the horse.

* * *

Mathias could feel the powerful muscles of the destrier shift under him as the Hun led him to the doors that opened to a chilly night. _Won't listen to English? Great._ The Dane took a deep breath, closing his eyes momentarily, allowing the cool air to relax his body against the horse's squirming one. Making sure his hands were gripping on to the reins carefully, he straightened his back and opened his eyes, looking down at Elizaveta. He nodded confidently. "Ready." He looked back out to the night sky, the stars distantly sparkling as the moon hogged the spotlight.

* * *

Elizaveta smiled then made eye contact with Tisza, who had been anticipating her queue. Her smile swiftly transformed into a smirk and she yelled in Hungarian, causing the horse to cry out loudly and raise its front feet half a meter or so off of the ground before speeding off outdoors, its broad muscles allowing it to gallop rapidly and powerfully; the black horse was completely disobedient, ignoring any commands from the Dane if he had any, roaming around the Hungarian's land freely and uncontrolled. Though Tisza knew that Elizaveta could well handle him, the horse was quite aware that this was the first time Mathias ever touched him, and wanted to test his endurance.

The destrier decided to first zigzag from side to side when it had the option to simply run straight down a clear road, though lenient and somewhat gentle with its movements as it had another plan for the Dane, only doing this to see if the nation was capable of hanging on; eventually, the horse picked up its speed, quickly adjusting to the Dane's weight - he was heavier than Elizaveta, after all - and dashed away until the two of them reached a river. Tisza reached his potential at the sight of it, maximizing his speed. Once they got to the edge of the river, the horse turned to have the flank of his body facing the river, and halted to a very sudden stop, much like Elizaveta would if she had to slam down the break when nearing closely to a red light while driving, in an attempt to use physics and force the Dane to flip over and fall into the water.

* * *

Mathias clung tightly to the reins as his knees pressed against the sides of the horse, keeping him in place as the horse stormed off. "_Woah!_" He called out, pulling back on the reins in an attempt to slow down the horse. Seeing as the destrier had other plans, the Dane instead decided to enjoy the thrill and held his place on the horse, his knuckles turning white from the intense grip. He bent his back, leaning forward, letting the rush of air blast him as Tisza galloped freely. He knew trying to tell the warhorse anything would be pointless, though he did try to get him to slow down a couple of times, but to no avail. _It's been too long since I've done this-I'm not going to be able to hold on much longer to this thing._

The Dane felt the horse suddenly jerk its direction once again, and soon saw a body of water ahead of them. _. . .Oh no._ "Aren't you the daredevil?" He muttered darkly to the horse. Mathias tried to hold on tighter to the running beast, but couldn't outdo the laws of physics and lost his grip on Tisza's reins. Before he knew it, he had been thrown into the water, his vision momentarily blurring as he was submerged under. He then sat up, using his hands to support him up, and spitted out a fountain of water, coughing, his hair dripping wet and covering his face. The Viking looked up at the proud horse, glaring. "Hilarious."

* * *

The black animal squealed loudly and snorted a few times, almost indicating that it was laughing at him, and glared back at the Dane, galloping in victorious circles nearby him. A few seconds later, Tisza raised his head at the sound of another horse drumming its legs against the ground - Elizaveta was riding on Leitha. The nation had obviously caught the scene, as she was laughing herself inside out, her eyes closed and moist with tears from such amusement. "If only I had my camera!" she openly burst aloud, still letting out a stream of laughter. It took her a while to settle down and wipe the water away from her eyes before deftly hopping off of the palfrey and walking up to the border of the river, the tiny waves tickling her bare feet.

"I really didn't think that Tisza would do that - but he did anyways!" A scheme, all a scheme. Elizaveta giggled with a wide smile on her face, again putting on a confident expression as her hands grabbed her own waist. Her narrowed green eyes then glinted mischievously under the moonlight as the Hungarian stared at the Dane with a smirk. "Sorry, Mathias, I had to do that."

* * *

Mathias spit at the horse, huffing. "Yeah yeah, prance around all you want." He also perked up at the sound of hooves hitting the ground, and soon the air was filled with the Hungarian's laughter. His eyes narrowed as he watched her dismount Leitha, glaring at her as her body trembled with joy. He shook his head to shake out the water in his hair, though it didn't do much good other then spraying some water droplets around.

"Didn't think he was going to do that _my ass_," The Dane glowered. The waves of the river gently pushed against the little of his body that was submerged in the shallow water. He stared at her feet, then looked up to make eye-contact, a smirk appearing on his own lips. "I should have known." Playing his own trick, he lashed out a leg at the Hun's, causing her to lose her balance and topple into the water on top of him. "Now, what should be my revenge?" He snickered.

* * *

Elizaveta, in the midst of a few chuckles, suddenly received a stabbing force at her legs, letting out a high pitched yelp as she completely lost balance and collapsed onto Mathias. Water splashed onto her arms and some areas of her legs and upper body, causing the nation to briefly become numb and flinch from the freezing cold water. It took her several seconds to pick up her surroundings and lift herself off of the Dane, staring blankly at his chest as she hovered over him; her expression changed into a dissatisfied one. _Oh you bastard._

The Hungarian then got onto one knee, further soaking her jeans, and planted her other foot into the soil beneath the water. The position and wide distance between her legs stabilized her body, supporting Elizaveta as she swept her arms beneath Mathias' knees and torso; she then lifted him off the ground without struggling to do so and swiftly hurled the Viking a few meters away into the deeper part of the river.

* * *

Mathias looked down at Elizaveta with a smug expression, but soon found himself being thrown into the deeper part of the river. The frigid water pierced through his clothing and completely soaked him as he broke the surface of the water, again spitting and sputtering whatever liquid had managed to get into his mouth and throat. _What a bitch._ The Viking, however, was not affected by the temperature of the water-he had been conditioned to such situations after years on the sea.

"Oh, so that's how you're going to play?" He grinned mischievously. Stretching his arm behind his body, he swept it in a wide arc across the surface of the water, sending a large wave in the Hungarian's direction.

* * *

Elizaveta smirked at his question, though that smirk changed into a surprised frown as Mathias slapped a thick spray of water at her. Instinctively, the Hungarian tensed her muscles and fell backwards onto her bottom, snapping her arm up to the level of her eyes. It served no use to her, however, as the water landed on her anyways, its temperature making her body shiver. Behind her, the Hungarian heard both Tisza and Leitha whinny in amusement; Elizaveta scoffed, shooting a glare at Mathias, before rising onto her feet and hugging herself for warmth. "I _really_ hate you," she hissed as she examined her clothes. "I'm glad that I put my hair up..."

The Hun, now not too willing to mess around anymore, stretched out her arm to offer the Dane a hand. "Alright, we should head back before we get sick."

* * *

Mathias snickered, shooting a smile at the horses. "Hate is a strong word." He smirked, then eyed her hand suspiciously. Seeing that the Hun was thoroughly not amused, he nodded and used her as support to get back onto his feet. Examining his own clothes, he was soaking wet, his clothes clinging onto his skin and his jeans having turned a dark shade of blue. His eyes traveled back to Elizaveta, and he had to admit that he enjoyed the view. Much like himself, her clothes clung to her, finely defining her body, and the way the water shined on her in the moonlight..._Stop it, Mathias._

The Viking clambered out of the river, stretching as a breeze hit him, only further sending chills down his body. He frowned, and then looked to the Hun. "Oh, that's right, you're not used to this." He flashed her an apologetic grin and softly laughed at the trembling girl.

* * *

Elizaveta rolled her eyes at Mathias, who only just discovered that she was not that suitable with water. "No, I'm not," the Hungarian nearly muttered, then released his hand. Noticing that her now free hand felt colder after letting go of the Dane, she realized that Mathias was still warm, despite being underwater; Elizaveta began to turn to her horses, but not without taking a peek at Mathias to look closely at his body for the creases of his muscles underneath his clothes. Perking up, the Hungarian lightly shook her head and headed to the black horse. _You're doing it again... _

She petted the animal before jumping onto the saddle fastened on its back. A frown flashed on her face from the weight of the water on her pants and the disgusting, uncomfortable feeling she got from it. "I don't think you'd want to ride Tisza after that," Elizaveta laughed, grinning as she set her eyes on the palfrey. "So are you going ride Leitha or walk back to my house in the cold?"

* * *

Mathias watched Elizaveta go towards the black horse-who he shot another glare at-before walking towards the palfrey. Stroking its neck, he laughed. "I don't think Tisza would want me to-that, or he'd just try and throw me into a hole next. Of course, by your command." He smirked, shooting a glance at the Hungarian. "And I think I'd rather walk...who knows what tricks you've taught this one?" He grabbed a hold of the white horse's reins and started walking back towards the Hun's home. He shook his head vigorously, again sending water droplets flying, and combed a hand through his hair, though it didn't do much good. _What time is it?_ The Dane suddenly realized something and his hand went to his side, feeling for his phone. It wasn't there. _It must have slipped out when Tisza started out..._

* * *

Elizaveta again rolled her eyes, though with a grin. "Trust me - Leitha's too nice to do that." Tisza quickly outpaced the white horse, wanting to lead; Leitha seemed to ignore what the destrier did, as she seemed to be used to it. Even if they were moving at a gentle pace, Elizaveta had to rub her arms to warm up her body, as her body seemed to be suffering from the water that seemed to be turning into ice as they returned to her house.

Thankfully, the walk wasn't too long - Elizaveta slid off of Tisza once they neared the horse stall and quickly closed the black horse into its proper place. She weakly smiled at him, stroking his head and whispering, "Thank you. I had a lot of fun." Shivering, the Hungarian then opened up the stall for Leitha, watching her carry the Dane in. "You're lucky that I have men's clothing, so you can change into those."

* * *

The Dane noticed the Hungarian's struggle to keep warm, though didn't feel too sorry for it. He hopped off of the palfrey as they entered the stable, leading her into the now open stall. He gave the horse one last pat before quickly returning to the still open doors, and thankfully found his phone lying unharmed on the ground. Mathias picked it up and wiped the screen before walking back over to the Hungarian, a smirk playing on his lips again.

"Men's clothing? My, what have _you_ been up to?" He teased, and again looked down at his own wet clothing. "And lucky? You make it sound as if it was an accident."

* * *

Elizaveta frowned before deciding to reply, "It's a long story. And I make it sound like an accident only because I bet that there's no other girl out there who has men's clothing, if you got stuck at any of their houses." The Hungarian locked up the gates to both the outdoors and Leitha's stable, bending over the wooden rail again to talk to the horse and quickly thank her as well. "You should shower, too, or else my house will seriously reek of horse. Then you can give my wine a shot." Elizaveta winked cutely at him, intentionally trying to be a Circe, before walking into her house.

* * *

Mathias cocked an eyebrow at the Hun, his voice filled with mischief. "_If_ I got stuck at other girls' houses, hm? How do you know if I have or not?" He laughed, rubbing his phone against his shirt in another attempt to clean it of any residue from lying on the dirt floor. He looked back up, just in time to see Elizaveta wink at him before she walked into her home, and blinked. _What was that for?_ Smirking, he followed her, closing the door behind him, and sighed. "Well, after that _refreshing_ dive...a shower doesn't sound too bad." Mathias noticed the trade-off they seemed to be having, and wondered if the Hun had only suggested the shower to once again get back at him.

* * *

Elizaveta stopped in the middle of the hallway, standing still for a moment before twisting her upper body around to stare at Mathias. "...Are you saying you _have_ stayed at other womens' houses?" The Hungarian then fixed her body to its proper position, remaining still to think, before muttering lowly with a smirk and not bothering to hear an answer, "Whore." Before Mathias could jump at her or do anything of the sort if he had caught her mockery, Elizaveta climbed up the stairs, using her normal voice, "The bathroom's to your left there. I'll leave some clothes for you outside the door."

* * *

Mathias' smirk only widened upon Elizaveta's question, but before he could answer, he heard her mutter before running off. _Whore?_ "Speak for yourself." He snickered quietly, though slightly dismayed that the Hun escaped before he could retort with action. The Dane watched her escape up the stairs before turning to his left to see the bathroom she was talking about. "Alright." He entered the bathroom, turning on the lights, and closed the door by leaning against it, eyes closing as he heard the _click_ of the door setting into place. His hand went to the back of neck, massaging it as he opened his eyes to the shower straight ahead, enclosed by a glass wall.

Sighing, he peeled off his shirt, wringing it in the sink to get the excess water out before hanging it on a hook in the wall. Mathias turned on the shower, allowing it to heat up this time before jumping in, the chill of the night slowly getting to him. Peeling off the rest of his clothing, he stepped behind the glass wall, allowing the water to pound his skin and the steam to sooth him. He looked upwards, lost in thought, going over the past few days' events. Finally snapping out of it he continued with his shower, thankful the soap had a neutral scent and not something flowery, before promptly shutting off the water and reaching for a towel. _I can't help but wonder what men's clothing she has...and if it would even fit me._

* * *

Elizaveta made her way to her room, apparently not picking up Mathias' last words, and dug through her drawers. She expected to find some sort of clothing for boys at the surface of her drawers, but had to spend more time sorting through her clothes. _How feminine have I gotten over these years?_ the Hungarian mused to herself. Finally, Elizaveta was able to whip out a set of casual clothing, proud that she was able to choose something that could possibly fit Mathias, but then frowned upon it. The set of clothes was bought particularly for Roderich, she remembered, but they were too big for his size. Since then, she never returned them to the store. _And I'm glad I didn't,_ Elizaveta thought, finally having a purpose for owning these clothes, and removed a white collared shirt with open cuffs at the end of the sleeves, a red v-neck vest, and black pants. _These_ have _to fit him._

With a smile on her face, the Hungarian then made her way outside of her room - but then something on her desk snatched her attention. She stared at it for a while, wore a dirty smirk at a sudden epiphany, and went up to the table to take along her camera before appearing at the top of her stairs. Elizaveta, too lazy but eager, tossed the pile of clothes to the front of the downstairs bathroom (which happened to land rather neatly at that) without going down and began to toy around with her camera's settings. Once satisfied, the nation clicked a button to make it start recording and set the camera in a position in which the Dane would not be able to see it unless he stood where she was now. The lens of the device was facing in a way so that it stared at the restroom. _Perfect._

Praying that Mathias wouldn't find it, Elizaveta swiftly returned to her room to grab some nightwear for herself before locking herself in her own bathroom on the second level to shower as well.

* * *

**_A/N:_**

_Ehe, one of the funner chapters of the RP. |D Hope you guys liked it, hahaha!_

_**xNeyu: **I actually did do some researching on horses - I felt like a total nerd after getting enough information. xD And I named Hungary's horses after the second and third longest rivers running through Hungary. I thought Danube would be too...meh. n_n;; _

_AND I WAS GOING TO MAKE TISZA WHITE AND LEITHA BLACK. I can imagine Hungary on a white horse very well, but black, not so much. But since destriers aren't white (or that's what I've read), then I had to go with black. ;3;__ Also, I was struggling to think of some set of clothes that both Denmark and Austria would look nice/okay in, lol. Until I came up with something. Hahaha...OTL_

_**Amerzt: **And Denmark is actually pretty good at riding horses too-there are some specific breeds only native to Denmark, and horse-riding is common. But I imagine that Den hasn't ridden a horse in a while... B)_

_and the two just teasing the hell out of each other is SUCH A CUTE IMAGE HEHEHEHE _


	24. Chapter 23

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 23**

* * *

Mathias dried himself down with the towel, ruffling up his hair a good amount to get all of the water out, and wrapped the white cloth around his waist as he approached the door. He unlocked it, and opened it just a bit to get a look outside. Seeing no one, he opened it slightly more. Realizing he could hear the water running through the pipes from the upper level bathroom, he opened the door fully, and found a pile of clothing laying a little ways from the front of the door. _She couldn't have just placed it right next to the door?_ He sighed, oblivious to the recording device watching him, and took two steps out of the bathroom to bend over and pick up what the Hungarian had left him.

Reentering the restroom, he closed the door once more. He stared at the clothing, amused. _No way it's hers. Must have been for..._ The Dane slightly frowned, then shook his head. He slipped back into his boxers, which he had tried drying out, and to his relief they weren't _too_ damp. Mathias then threw on the other articles of clothing and opened the door in a rush, wishing to get out of the steamy bathroom. He hunted down a plastic bag where he stuffed his wet clothing, and then wandered out to the living room. The Viking plopped down on the sofa, and busied himself with a loose thread on the vest as he waited for Elizaveta.

* * *

After a very quick shower (the camera was on her mind the entire time), Elizaveta came out of the restroom wearing a simple lavender nightgown, her hair now down with a towel beneath it and wrapped around her shoulders. She stood at the door of her bathroom to listen to the liveliness of her house; it was silent and there was no water running. _He's either still in the restroom or outside,_ she assumed, her heart thumping against her chest, incredibly nervous. Elizaveta tiptoed her way towards the stairs, glancing at the lower level in both excitement and fear. _The camera's still there...the bathroom door is wide open..._ Yes! _I'm safe!_ Successful in her stealthiness in capturing the Dane on her camera, Elizaveta snatched the camera, shut it off, and quietly and ecstatically put it back in her room beside her computer, then finally went downstairs to meet the Dane.

"I hope that fits," Elizaveta said, grinning as she appeared before Mathias. _Ohhh my god. He looks great in that._ Her brain was certainly in heaven right now, but her outer appearance was completely normal (though she actually had to try to keep on a straight face - she was never good at hiding herself when it came to things like this). The Hungarian then ambled into the kitchen, swinging open a cabinet door to access her stash of wine. "You're ready for the wine, I'm guessing?"

* * *

Mathias looked up at the sound of footsteps, and caught his breath when he saw the Hungarian. _Talk about hot. Damn._ He quickly averted his gaze, focusing back on the loose thread. Plucking it off, he smoothed out the vest before looking up again, hoping to keep himself composed as his eyes attracted back to Elizaveta. "Surprisingly, yes. For the most part anyway...it's a little tight, but nothing I can't deal with." From his movements, it could be seen that the shirt was clinging to his biceps in particular, but the Dane was still able to move around his arms, so he didn't really care. He traced her movements towards the kitchen, though focusing more on her body then anything else. At her question, he tried to suppress any...thoughts...and replied. "Sure. Let's see what's this amazing Hungarian wine you keep talking about." He laughed.

* * *

"That's good," Elizaveta replied, bending into the cabinet to grab two wine bottles. Her hands now occupied, she lightly kicked the door closed and placed the wine on the counter, then wandered over to another drawer to take out two wine cups. The Hungarian stared at the glass cups as she walked back to the bottles. _Alright, don't get out of hand tonight, or else you'll knock yourself out tonight and tomorrow. _

"I'm giving you my best wine, so if you don't like it, I'll hurt you," Elizaveta warned while laughing, though it was uncertain to whether or not she was serious. She opened one bottle with her hands, accompanied by a bursting _pop_ sound, then poured a moderate amount for the two of them. "This first one is _Tokaji_, white wine." Pinching the stem of the cups, the Hungarian carried them to where Mathias sat and settled down beside him, offering him one wine cup as she drank out of the other.

* * *

Mathias laughed warmly, taking the offered wine glass with a nod. "Huh, well, I guess I better pretend to like it in the least." His eyes involuntarily drifted to look at the Hun's body once again and he had to tear his vision away as he caught himself looking at her chest. The Dane could smell the alcohol in the wine, and took a small sip, not knowing what to expect. _Will I even be able to control myself?_ A sweet taste flooded his senses as the wine made it down his throat. It wasn't bitter like most wines-granted, the bitterness was present, but only after the sugary sensation passed.

"A dessert wine?" He smiled. "You sure do have a sweet-tooth. No wonder you didn't want any of that pie." He chuckled, then took a few more sips, absentmindedly licking his lips to absorb all the sugar the wine had to offer.

* * *

As the alcohol swept through her body, her brain seemed to have some kind of wave; Elizaveta closed her eyes, trying her best to rid of the effects the wave could have given her, then reopened them to glance at the Dane, grinning. "Heh, you could say that," she admitted. A few more sips; a few more shockwaves. _Dammit - the alcohol is already getting to me._ Noting to herself that she should control herself as much as she could, Elizaveta set the base of the wine cup on her palm, giving her time to adjust to the white wine. Mathias licking his lips, however, didn't help her at all, as her eyes laid on him for a number of seconds and her back tingled uneasily before she stared down at the _Tokaji_. After a minute or so, she rose and came back to the kitchen counter, retrieving the second wine bottle. "So, do you like it or not?"

* * *

Mathias continued to drink at the wine, and had actually finished before he realized it. He could already feel the alcohol starting to affect him-after all, dessert wines _did_ tend to have more alcohol in them than normal wines. The Dane was trying to control himself, but knew his weakness towards the toxic beverage was a great one. He stared at the empty glass he now held in his hands, blinking a couple of times as if it would clear the tingling sensation in the back of his head. Mathias looked up at Elizaveta's question, and smiled. "Yes, I do. I've never really had sweet wine all too often." _Because you're always drinking beer or mjd,_ a voice seemed to snap at him, almost disapprovingly. He ignored it, and found his eyes on the Hungarian once again, his eyes resting on things they shouldn't have been, and turned yet again to look away. _If this ends up being a repeat..._

* * *

As the Hungarian slowly depleted the amount of wine in her cup, she sat down next to the Dane again with the other wine bottle. Her eyes stared at the empty glass resting in his hand. "Done already?" Elizaveta smiled positively, though feared for herself. "Well, I guess it just confirms that you do like it after all." She let a light laugh escape from her mouth before snapping off the cap to the second wine bottle. "Alright, try some red wine. _Egri __Bikavér _is its name." Gently, Elizaveta tipped the red wine into Mathias' cup, though giving him only a small amount. The odor of alcohol was much stronger, which obviously proved that this color of wine was more potent than white. _If I give him any more, then..._ She dared not think of the consequences, nor did she want to drink it for her own safety.

* * *

The Dane watched the Hungarian pour the red wine into his glass, and noticed the small amount. The smell of alcohol in the _Egri __Bikavér_ was even stronger than that of the white wine, and he laughed softly at her comment. "I didn't even realize I had finished, to be honest." He slightly moved the wine cup, causing the liquid to circulate, before taking a sip, making sure that the sugary taste from before had left his mouth. The taste of this wine was strong, and bitter like most wine. He forced himself to have only a couple of sips before tearing the glass away from his lips. He gave her an amused look, though noted she wasn't taking any of the red wine for herself. "Well, I can at least say now that you haven't been bragging about your wine for nothing." As he spoke, the tingling sensation at the back of his head became stronger as the alcohol took its toll. _Ugh. But it's only wine..._

* * *

Elizaveta's eyes never left the Dane as he engulfed her red wine, even involuntarily tightening her grip on the bottle of _Egri __Bikavér_. This time, a weak smile came upon her face as she worried over the Dane's tolerance with alcohol. "I have my reasons." She surveyed the Viking's face - he didn't look too eager to drink anymore. _I should put this away...but this wine would come to a waste, wouldn't it?_ Now she was torn between whether to drink it, urge Mathias to drink more, or just toss it out. Refrigerating it would work, yes, but only for a day or a few - plus, it wouldn't taste as rich as it was right now. Drinking it, who knows what madness she would do...and the _both_ of them cleaning out the bottle? Another shiver zipped down her spine.

The Hungarian resorted with just keeping the wine in the fridge. Elizaveta finished her long idle white wine first before getting up once more to seal the bottles with corks. After screwing corks into both of them, she blinked once, then turned to the Dane. "Did you want any more?" she questioned very unwillingly, realizing that she was getting ahead of herself. _Please say no._

* * *

Mathias stared at the wine bottles for a while, or what seemed a while anyway, due to the alcohol. As tempting as it was to have more, the Dane had to force himself to forget about it and make do with what he had. Besides, with the way that Elizaveta was getting ready to put away the wine bottles, it was obvious she would prefer him _not_ to have any more. The tone of her voice pointed to this direction as well, and he decided to shake his head, though stopped soon from an ache developing. "No, I think I'm good." His voice already had a strange edge to it, and his accent became slightly stronger, as it always did when he got drunk.

He stroked the face of the wine glass with his thumb before placing it to his lips again. Unintentionally, he slightly looked up from the glass, and saw that his eyes became level directly with her hips as he slouched in the sofa. His cheeks became a slight shade of pink and he sighed, leaning back to focus his attention on the ceiling instead.

* * *

Her heart rate seemed to decrease significantly at Mathias' answer. _Thank you,_ she mentally told him, now moving along to store the wine. Elizaveta frowned at the refrigerator after closing it, staring at it with frustration. _I bet I won't even finish those in a few days...maybe I'll give them to Ludwig or Gilbert..._ Releasing a sigh filled with the aroma of alcohol, Elizaveta strode back to the Dane, though the smell of the wine stung her nose and nauseated her as if she had connected alcohol with negative thoughts.

The poignant odor of the wine seemed to continue bothering her, taking a hit on her every step she took while returning to Mathias, even nearly tripping over her own feet. _God_ damn _it._ Elizaveta ended up walking a little too far than she would have liked due to her distractions, standing rather closely in front of the Viking. Her brain was too chaotic to tell her to step back, and only stared down at his face. Somehow, her mouth was still sane. "...Is something wrong?"

* * *

The Dane closed his eyes and brought his head down again, opening his eyes so that he was looking ahead. "No, I'm f-" He hadn't expected the Hungarian to be standing as close as she was, thinking she had just returned from putting the wine away and couldn't have possibly reached him already. _My perception of time is gone..._ But more than that, his eyes were level to her hips again, and slowly his eyes traced up her body, finely defined by her nightgown, though his eyes never reached all the way up to hers. Another blush had taken over his cheeks as his heart rate slightly increased, the intoxication of his mind becoming clearly evident.

* * *

Elizaveta seemed to finally receive the message to move back as Mathias was apparently dazed, wobbling backwards a few steps. While her eyes darted from side to side and up and down to examine Mathias, her vision began to blur and her eyelids half closed on her, but her mouth kept moving almost on its own. "Are you sure? Do you need to go to sleep?" Aside from her lips, the Hungarian was having an internal struggle, miserably failing to fight back the alcohol. _I...need to stop drinking,_ Elizaveta barely managed to think out. Like a plague, the effects of the wine eventually and inevitably spread to her lips and the Hun began to slur her words, her sentences lacking fluency. "There's a...guest room...for you..."

* * *

Mathias shook his head, though he kept his gaze fixed on the Hungarian. He couldn't understand why he was feeling so intoxicated already. It had just been some wine. _But godawful strong wine._ His resistance to his drunk side was deteriorating, but he managed to force out an answer. "Sleep? No, I think I'm...fine..." And then an idea crept into his mind. An idea forming as he looked at Elizaveta, who obviously was feeling intoxicated as well from her words and actions, her body slightly swaying, and the air tainted around them with the smell of alcohol. A dirty, shameless idea that he was forming without actually realizing it. "...Where is the guest room?"

* * *

Wordlessly and thoughtlessly, Elizaveta stumbled her way across the living room, almost tumbling onto the ground from somewhat tripping over the piano's chair while doing so. Her legs lead her up the stairs clumsily, her hand automatically pawing against the wall every few seconds for support, and reached a room a meter or two away from her own bedroom. This room, the guest room, had not been touched for what seemed like years, giving off a dull scent that didn't seem to belong to anyone. Taking her at least a minute to realize that she had reached the room Mathias requested for, Elizaveta leaned against the wall next to the doorway, slouching slightly. "Right here," the Hun mumbled, her eyes temporarily widening before narrowing and staring at the Viking.

* * *

Mathias followed after the Hungarian, watching her nearly stumble time and time again as she showed him to the guest room, his eyes looking upwards as they climbed the stairs so that every now and then when her nightgown would lift up just a tad too high, he tightened his grip on the railing due to his blood rushing from the view. Once upstairs and in the room, his idea seemed to kick into gear, and he had lost control over whatever actions he now performed. "I see..." He murmured, and then came dangerously close to Elizaveta, caressing her cheek with one hand. "Are you okay?"

* * *

The Dane's touch on her cheek strangely rattled her brain, her eyes further narrowing and some of her senses seeming to come back to her, but was still dizzy from the alcohol consumption. She wasn't too sure what was going on and probably _wouldn't_ know for...well, forever, but just went along with whatever Mathias was doing, carelessness taking over her. Elizaveta's hand frailly reached up to his face, hovering over it as her fingertips made the slightest pokes on his skin. "I'm alright," the nation replied slowly. "I just...can't stand properly." In a random effort to demonstrate, Elizaveta pushed herself off the wall with one hand, though ended up falling onto and leaning against the Viking's broad body for support.

* * *

The Viking had twitched slightly when her hand had reached towards his face, but stayed firm when the Hun toppled onto him, arms instinctively reaching out to hold her by the waist. He narrowed his eyes, his voice feigning innocence. "Well, that's not too good," he murmured as he looked down at the girl clinging to him, his mind racing. "Maybe you should...lay down?" He swiftly grabbed her by her wrists, somewhat dragging her to the side of the bed by walking backwards, and then pushed her so that she stumbled onto the mattress. He crept onto the bed, hovering over her. "...Feeling better?"

* * *

Her mind sorted out her thoughts as she was almost literally dragged over to the bed, not resisting him at all - she was too focused on her headache to notice that Mathias was being his selfish, lustful self. Her back was now comfortable, for sure, but it didn't completely satisfy her needs. Elizaveta made eye contact with the uncontrolled Dane, taking her time to answer. "...Not really," she honestly replied. "My head is still...whirling." The Hungarian thought she heard that little voice in the back of her head trying to tell her something, but was too distant to make it to her.

* * *

Mathias examined the Hungarian beneath him, his eyes finally coming to a lock with hers. "Whirling?" His own vision momentarily blurred and then became clear again. _Damn alcohol._ But his own thoughts were becoming muddy, and he leaned in towards Elizaveta, eyes narrowed, as his right hand came to press against her forehead before moving to caress her cheek. His lips brushed her other cheek as he spoke. "Just give it a bit, _relax_...it'll go away."

* * *

Silently obeying the Dane, Elizaveta closed her eyes and gave herself some more time, not minding (or even noticing?) his actions; Mathias' breath against her skin was warm and comforting, though it smelled of the red wine, causing her headache to only worsen. Her lips twitched into a frown, her eyebrows knitting...but as the Dane's words rang through her ears, Elizaveta's brain seemed to shift slightly and her headache dissolved.

Seeming to regain some more of her senses, the Hungarian slowly opened her eyes to find herself staring into Mathias' tainted ones. _His eyes..._ She felt like something was wrong - not only with his eyes, but also Mathias himself. _It's the alcohol...maybe I shouldn't have given him the wine in the first place._ "Mathias," Elizaveta murmured seriously, sensing that the events of the other drunken night would recur.

* * *

The Dane took advantage of the Hungarian's closed eyes, allowing himself to drink up her body. There was no doubt that the wine had fully taken over him now, his thoughts coherent enough but his actions seeming to be carried out on their own. His eyes moved back to her face, staring at her closed eyelids. When she opened her eyes again, he narrowed his own. A slight smirk played on his lips as he teased at the corner of her lips. "Yes?" He could smell the alcohol, not only from his own breath but hers as well, which didn't help much. _You just have no control, do you?,_ that strange voice scolded. But Mathias didn't care at this point-whatever happens, happens. If this was the last night he'd spend with Elizaveta for a while, he wanted to make the most of it.

* * *

His mouth and his single word answer - _his voice_ - made her want to give herself in to him. He was starting to become irresistible, his scent lingering past the wine's tasty, his body contact stimulating her blood to flow faster through her veins. However, her unwillingness to cooperate was overpowering her desire to hand herself over, and barely managed (though still struggled) to keep herself sane. Elizaveta parted her lips slightly to talk, though said nothing as her head tried to think of the right words to say, fearing that she would offend Mathias if she outrightly told him to stop himself. She found the words that she uttered to actually be more ridiculous: "You asked for the guest room...but it still seems like you need something...?"

* * *

Mathias had to do his best to not get ahead of himself, but it was slowly becoming a losing battle. He inhaled her scent, and that along with the refreshing smell from her hair and skin from her shower only seemed to intoxicate him even more. The Viking found himself losing control of his thoughts as well, and he smirked at her question. "Yes...I do." His voice then turned into a seductive whisper, dripping with lust and desire, and a devilish glint could be found in his eyes. "..._You._" With that, he pressed his lips against hers, locking her into a kiss.

* * *

Elizaveta involuntarily held in her breath as he kissed her, her eyes and reddened face displaying her simultaneous shock and embarrassment. Through the kiss, the Hungarian's tongue could detect some red wine transferring into her mouth from the Dane's, the taste of alcohol apparently stinging her mouth. However, the burning seemed to somehow make her brain click, unlocking something inside her, in which Elizaveta then finally responded to the kiss by pushing Mathias away with her legs, feet on his hips. Liberated, she wiped her mouth of the wine as she spoke, her voice having a mix of her normal and Hunnic personalities and edging danger, "I'm sorry, I can't just let you take me like that. What is it that you're trying to do?"

* * *

Mathias felt himself being pushed away, his lips eventually parting with hers. His eyes had darkened completely now, as his own Viking personality took over, officially diminishing any chance the Dane had to regain control of himself. He laughed quietly, a sinister ring echoing from it. "Trying to do? I'm not _trying_ to do anything...what I _am_ doing is enjoying a night with you...a night that probably is our last for a while." He spoke honestly, though something seemed to ram him in the back of the head, as if telling him to sort himself out. But it was already too late for that. However, he didn't try and make another move, instead looking into the Hungarian's eyes, wondering her response.

* * *

Elizaveta swiftly sat up on the bed before Mathias could take any action, but not without feeling her head sway from the alcohol. _Stupid wine - I'm completely fine, but you're the thing that's holding me down._ Her narrowed eyes glared at the Dane, suspicion arising in her. "Oh, really?" She paused to smirk and slowly get onto her feet. "That's quite a gentlemanly thing of you to do, Mathias. Then _how_, exactly, are you going to 'enjoy' this night with me?" Yes, the Hungarian was indirectly sending him an invitation and was cognizant that she as doing so. If he did accept the invitation, she planned to knock some sense into the Dane...and if he didn't, she would knock him out unconscious.

* * *

The Dane blinked, though did not move away form the Hungarian as she sat up. Her words seemed to bring out the actual Mathias back, even if just for a bit. He shook his head, trying to tell himself that the wine was doing more damage then it really should be. _I can't possibly be that drunk..._ He realized it was simply the feeling it was giving him, more than actual intoxication, that was causing him to act this way. Fighting back his Viking side which had thought had won over him, he watched her get to her feet, and slightly leaned back, a smug expression appearing on his face. "By spending time with you, of course." He smirked. "What we spend that time _doing_, however...well, that's up to you."

* * *

Her eyes seemed to return to their normal size as she watched Mathias back away a few centimeters, her heart relaxing inside her. _Thank you,_ she thought with great relief. _Now if he can stay like this..._ A smile came upon her face, her Hun side disappearing, and started to walk out of the room. Her voice easily adjusted to her lady-like and feminine tone as she replied, "Well, I'm not too sure - as I said, there's not much to do in my house." Noticing that her room's door was open, Elizaveta quietly rushed over to it and closed it before Mathias would become...curious. "I'm outside my house most of the time, after all."

* * *

The Dane watched her closely with his eyes, able to see her from where he stood in the room. He heard the sound of her bedroom doors closing, and couldn't but help be amused. _I wonder what she has in there..._ The Viking tried to calculate what to do so that the night would go the way he wanted it to. He leaned against the doorway leading into the guestroom, arms crossed. His voice had a tone of laughter in it, almost as if he was tempting the Hungarian to do something to him. "There are a _number_ of things to do, I'm sure. You're just not thinking hard enough."

* * *

Elizaveta let out a gentle laugh, unable to hold back a smile. "I guess you're right." The Hungarian wasn't all too tired, either, so she could use up some of her energy (and get rid of the alcohol polluting her body). She pondered for a moment, staring at the ceiling as she did so. _What to do..._ Her mind drifted over to the piano first - it reminded her of Roderich, but when thinking about the Dane, she wondered if he was able to play any instrument or had any musical talent. Elizaveta couldn't keep her thoughts away from that, as the image of Mathias calmly playing some sort of instrument with a peaceful expression pleased her inner self. At the same time, she was too reluctant to ask him. _He would think of Roderich._ The confrontation between the two nations when Mathias came here haunted her. Very shyly, Elizaveta asked as she averted her gaze, "Um...I know you like listening to music, but...do you know how to play any instruments?"

* * *

That did it. Her laugh and her shy look and voice diminished whatever feelings of lust the Dane was feeling (for the moment, anyway), instead leaving him just staring at her, and couldn't help but smile. _She looks so damn cute like that._ Laughing, Mathias shook his head. "How to play an instrument? Why, do I really look like that much of a brute? Heh." He smirked. "Of course I can play an instrument. Guitar, drums, violin, cello, vocal chords...I'm good with most things, though I guess those would be my forts." He cocked an eyebrow at her, wondering why she was asking. _Does she expect to make me play something?_ Mathias prevented himself from reaching for his head, which had momentarily felt dizzy as he had spoken.

* * *

Elizaveta straightened her back up at the list he provided her – a _list_. _I wasn't expecting that at all._ Her eyes especially picked up the more orchestral instruments, the violin and the cello. She guessed that Mathias wasn't as skilled as Roderich with the violin - not to be biased or anything, the Austrian _truly_ seemed to be the best at it in her opinion - but still wondered about the Dane's playing style, as she knew that every musician had a unique one. Again, the Hun laughed and shook her head, chuckling, "No! I wasn't implying that." She fell silent, suddenly occupied with thoughts. _Should I ask him to play something?_ Elizaveta questioned herself. She could feel herself wanting to listen to something classical, as she hasn't been for the past few days - she could even say that she was yearning to hear music being played live in front of her. Even if she could do so herself, Elizaveta enjoyed it far more when she listened to others performing. The nation slowly summoned up courage.

"Um...do...do you mind playing something?" Her eyes occasionally glanced up at Mathias, still emitting shyness as her fingers twiddled behind her back. "I have the piano downstairs, and my violin, cello, and harp in my room."

* * *

_Expected._ Mathias smiled at the Hun, whose shy demeanor was still tugging at him. _Hardly anyone gets to see this side of her..._ He tapped his fingers on his arm as he thought, momentarily closing his eyes. _If I say no, she's going to give me that puppy-dog look girls tend to do..._ He sighed, and upon opening his eyes grinned at Elizaveta. "I'm more of a guitar person...but, I guess if you want me to..." He paused, thinking. "I'm not as good as Eirik when it comes to violin...so let's try cello." He laughed, though he felt slightly nervous, as he didn't normally play for others except for guitar.

* * *

_Ah, so he plays the violin too?_ she thought, tilting her head slightly. Realizing that Mathias was waiting for her to retrieve the cello, Elizaveta murmured a small "oh!" and opened the door to her room, enough so that she could squeeze through the opening and minimizing Mathias' view of her room. _There is no way I'm letting him in any day anytime soon._ The Hungarian returned to the Dane within a few seconds, returning with her polished cello in one hand and the bow, the strings already tightened, in the other. "I hope this size is just about right; come downstairs, I don't think that you'd want to play while standing." _Especially when we're still somewhat drunk._

The Hungarian headed to the first floor, though steadily, and used her elbow to purposely and lightly bump into the wall before she tripped over from her alcoholic state. She waited for the Dane beside her sofa. "Oh, and if you don't want to be alone, I can try doing a duet with you on the piano."

* * *

Mathias followed the Hungarian down the stairs, amazingly able to keep his composure as he hit each step, and plopped down on the sofa, his head again momentarily reeling from the trip. He took the cello and bow out of Elizaveta's grasp, sizing it up and staring at it for a while. Deeming the size good enough, he turned back to her. _A duet?_ He actually rather liked the idea-he'd rather have her playing and being busy as well then have to be watched while playing by himself. "Sure, that sounds good." He pondered, wondering what songs they could possibly do, trying to think of something generic. "To be honest, I don't know all that much for cello...I'm assuming you know how to play Canon?"

* * *

Elizaveta grinned, more than happy to do a duet. "Alright then." She then pulled out the piano's tiny chair and settled down on it, making herself comfortable as she lifted up the cover of the piano. _I hope the wine doesn't affect my tempo._ At Mathias' suggestion, the Hungarian somewhat froze and twisted her head to face him. "Canon?" she questioned with a small smile, though didn't ask for an explanation of why he chose that piece. _But he would make a good man for that,_ the Hungarian admitted secretly. Turning back around, Elizaveta set her fingers on the proper keys and looked down at them, not needing the sheet music as she had the song memorized. "Of course I know Canon. I'm ready whenever you are - you can start off first and I'll join you later."

* * *

Mathias nodded, and put the cello into proper position, his left wrist gently resting at the top of its body, fingers tenderly touching the strings. His right hand held the bow, which he firmly grasped, as he let the cello rest slightly between his legs. He thought for a bit, trying to remember the piece, and once he was sure he had gotten it, he took a deep breath, before exhaling, and closed his eyes. _Well, here I go, Mr. Viking playing a cello, of all things._ His bow slid across the strings, and he began to play. The Dane's fingers danced along the large instrument's neck, the bow sliding back and forth on the various strings with fluid movements. _Can play after having bit to drink. Check._

* * *

Elizaveta waited patiently and calmly for Mathias to begin, and closed her eyes as well to focus on her ears. She heard a sigh come out from him and smiled - and once he began playing, the Hungarian shuddered. His playing style was unique and one-of-a-kind indeed. As he bowed the string instrument, the low and deep but full sound vibrated into her ears, satisfying them. Instinctively, Elizaveta joined in a few measures later, her fingers gently pressing down the keys and her hands gracefully moving along the piano to achieve a delicate and light feeling. She began to sway naturally from side to side, much like Roderich whenever he played the piano, absorbing herself into the classical piece and keeping up with the Dane's slow tempo. Her ears evaluated their playing as the song moved from one note to the next.

_Just about the right dynamics, a nice flow, keeping up to beat and remaining connected...not bad._

* * *

Once Mathias heard the piano being played, he slightly opened his eyes to steal a glance of Elizaveta, who was fully absorbed in the song. A small smile appeared on his lips as he closed his eyes again, allowing himself to absorb the vibrations of the cello as he played. He didn't think much of what he was playing or hearing, other then that the cello and piano went well together. _Very_ well together. The Dane soon (or was it really all that soon?) found his hands coming to a rest as the last note echoed from the vibrations in the strings of the cello. Mathias kept his eyes closed for a bit, enjoying the sound, before eventually opening them, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the light. _Well, my head seems to be feeling a bit clearer..._

* * *

Elizaveta heard well the final note humming from the cello, yet she continued on several more measures to end the song with a simple, short conclusion. Her last note was played by her pinky, which remained on the key until she could no longer hear any sounds from the piano. Finally, the Hungarian turned around to face Mathias with a grin, her eyes now visible. "Thank you," she murmured to him, her polite manners very apparent, and then remembered something. "I'm sorry if you didn't want to play the cello, but I have to say, you're very good at it."

The Hun could tell that alcohol was still present in her head, though the amount was much less. Slowly, Elizaveta rose and glanced at the clock. _Now it's incredibly late._ As she approached the Dane to take back her cello, she said, "It's best that we sleep now. Do you need anything like water, or a toothbrush, or...?"

* * *

Mathias returned Elizaveta's smile, though laughed at her words. "Eh, I'm okay. Nothing special. You play a pretty mean piano though." _No doubt due to Roderich._ "I'm just glad I could remember the song." The Dane watched her get up, his own gaze traveling to the clock as hers did. _How is it we always end up doing this..._ As she approached him, Mathias eyed her carefully. His selfish urge was slowly coming back, and he had to do his best to keep his eyes focused on the Hungarian's eyes. "I suppose so," he murmured. He had been patient in allowing the Hun to distract them from earlier. _Patience._ He nodded slowly to her, also getting up with the cello and bow in hand. "Water would be nice."

* * *

Elizaveta laughed again, rather melodically this time. "Thank you, and I'm glad you did." Somehow, the piano had turned her back into the well-mannered woman she was known to be, though the Hungarian didn't notice one bit; she was far too used to this demeanor.

She quickly strode over to the kitchen to fill a normal glass cup with water and ice, then returned to Mathias to alleviate him of the instrument and hand him his drink. Her eyes couldn't help but to stare past him and onto the Viking ship model he had given her; as she continued to lay her eyes on it, Elizaveta realized that many memories were now connected to that toy. She smiled before retreating upstairs into her room to store the cello away, then stood outside her room, shutting the door and leaning against a wall to wait for Mathias to get to bed.

* * *

Mathias picked up on Elizaveta's change. He didn't like it when she got too well-mannered, as it made him suddenly feel distant from her again. He enjoyed seeing her just being herself and messing around, much like she had done earlier today. He sighed, taking the glass of water with a small "thanks" as she took the instrument from him. He waited for her to start up the stairs, eyes following, and then gulped down the water in a matter of seconds. He was ready to fall back on the sofa, his head spinning with thoughts and alcohol, but the water seemed to help. Mathias eventually made his way up the stairs, only to see the Hungarian waiting against a wall. He walked up to her, but not too close. _But close enough._ "Thank you, Elizaveta."

* * *

The Hungarian was temporarily stunned by his words, but then displayed a smile in understanding. "You're welcome." She then scanned Mathias from head to toe, and realized how minimal the space between them was; her eyes moved back up to stare back into the Dane's, reading his emotions. _He...doesn't want to leave me, does he?_ During the silence, Elizaveta continued to evaluate the Viking's expression, feeling herself mentally drawing towards him as if she wanted to help him. Eventually, she took a step forward to set a kiss onto Mathias' lips, her neck needing to stretch to reach his height, and drew away from him after a few seconds.

"...Good night, Mathias."

* * *

**_A/N:_**

_Don't like this cut off, but the chapter was getting too long. And some of the pace of the RP/fanfic here was a little too fast at times. Sorry about that again, we were incredibly tired. XD;_

_Um, yeah, getting drunk and then playing instruments. They're one strange couple. XD In our defense, we were extremely tired during this part of the RP, and our unhealthy addiction to it prevented us from...well, doing while more coherent and awake. We were drunk on sleepiness, I guess you could say. _|D

_...You know what, just gonna go ahead and upload the next chapter. Yeahhh._

_And also! Thank you all for the reviews and such-it really makes us happy to get some feedback. We know people are reading but to actually read what people think about it means a lot to us. So thanks again!_


	25. Chapter 24

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 24**

* * *

Mathias had found himself staring at the Hungarian for some time, and was slightly surprised when she moved to kiss him. In those few seconds, his heart rate quickened, and he was slightly disappointed when she drew away. It was that simple movement that sparked the desire in the Dane all over again. He didn't want to leave her, even though he knew he had to. He didn't want to leave her, even though he knew she had other things to attend to. He didn't want to leave her, because he knew she felt the same way. Finding Elizaveta so near as she just drew away from the kiss, Mathias leaned forward, placing another kiss on her lips as one hand came to rest on her hip, the other caressing her cheek. He slowly kissed her, but didn't draw away.

* * *

Elizaveta, for once, was hoping for a normal night - or rather, a night in which she could sleep well and peacefully without her or Mathias getting out of hand. However, that hope vanished as she found herself lightly pressed against the wall, as the Dane had trapped her into yet another kiss. She froze up for a moment, fearing that he wouldn't ever be able to let her go even if she was happy he felt that way, but calmed down. _He isn't doing anything that bad,_ Elizaveta thought, trying to think positively. Gently, the Hungarian decided to return his kiss, her lips moving slowly as well, while her hands rose to hold his face.

* * *

The Dane continued the slow pace of the kiss, though pushed her up just slightly more against the wall. The feel of her hands caressing him and the returned kiss made him feel a surge of warmth throughout his body. He deepened the kiss, though gently, keeping himself in control. Any sudden movements and the Hun would surely shove him away. If he could at least keep this up, he'd be content. He only hoped that Elizaveta _was_ feeling the same towards him, though everything they had gone through so far had confirmed that she did.

* * *

Elizaveta was enjoying this to the fullest, she would admit that much. But even so, worry began to fill her head and allowed Mathias to further kiss her before her hands gently pulled his head away from hers rather reluctantly. She tilted her head to the side slightly to get a better glimpse of the Viking's face, particularly his eyes.

"Mathias," Elizaveta spoke softly, though convincingly, "if we continue to do this, then how can we survive as nations?" She hated to bring it to him, but wasn't sure of how to stop him otherwise. If she was to be with him, now wasn't the time; she still had her issue with Roderich to deal with - who knew what he was thinking about her and her feelings toward Mathias at this very moment - and Mathias probably had his own. The Hungarian lightly stroked his cheek with the palm of her hand, murmuring, "We can't always be like this."

* * *

Mathias allowed himself to be pulled away, as much as he didn't want to. His blue eyes looked into her green ones, and her soft words tugged at his heart, her touch making it feel as if he was melting on the inside. _Get a hold of yourself._ The Dane understood the Hungarian's words clearly-he knew what she said was true, but didn't want to face it, until now as she openly said it. His thumb brushed her cheek as he pressed his forehead against her gently, sighing and closing his eyes. "I know." He responded barely above a whisper. "I know." He repeated, though this time there was a slight edge to it. It pained him to speak those words, but he knew, yes knew, that he had his own issues to deal with. After all, they were nations-it was dangerous to even be in such a relationship that the two were in now. He never hated being a nation more then he did now.

* * *

Elizaveta could feel herself internally tear apart from his reiterated words, almost to the point that she thought her blood was escaping from her veins and arteries and was filling up the cavities of her organs. Her eyebrows knitted as Mathias placed his forehead against hers, warming her physically yet at the same time emotionally torturing her, and she rasped out, "Don't say it like that." She immediately closed the distance between them to embrace him, her arms wrapped around Mathias' back. However, upon a realization, Elizaveta leaned her upper body back so that she could face him again, a weak smile enlightening her face. "But even if we do separate, there's always another day to meet, right?"

* * *

Mathias returned her embrace, his arms not wanting to let go of her as he absorbed the warmth she gave him. It had been too long since he had this strange feeling, a feeling he couldn't place a name on or identify. All he knew was that he didn't want it. The Dane looked down at the Hungarian, her smile seeming to give off more than one emotion. "Right." He replied, though he felt that his voice sounded weak, and mentally kicked himself. He hated how she could make him feel this way, though he loved it at the same time. He squeezed her tightly in his arms, enjoying one last complete embrace, before pulling away from her. He didn't want to, but knew he did-for once, he wanted to be the one to break contact. He leaned to give her another light kiss, then breathed on her lips: "Good night." With that, he turned to make his way into the guest room.

* * *

Elizaveta enjoyed the bear-like hug while it lasted, but then her face flushed lightly from his goodnight kiss. She stared at him until he isolated himself inside her guestroom, sighing a few seconds after he disappeared from her sight. _I won't be liking tomorrow...or these next few days. _

Elizaveta refused to head to bed right away, let alone her room, as she did not want to end up lost in her thoughts if she wasn't able to fall asleep right away. She decided to quietly go downstairs, grabbing a cup of water for herself, and fixed up the living room, closing the cover to the piano and pushing in the chair. Her eyes then happened to fall upon a plastic bag, with clothes she well recognized. _They're Mathias'...and they stink of water and horse._ Again, the Hungarian smiled and picked up the bag, sliding out the Dane's clothes - oh did she wonder what was in the pile - and headed off to wash and dry them for him to wear for the next day.

* * *

Mathias pushed the door of the guest room, causing it to gently rest against the door frame, but not close. He realized he was more tired than he originally thought. _That wine probably isn't helping._ His head felt heavy. He pulled the covers of the bed back slowly, remembering how he had tricked Elizaveta earlier. A small smirk couldn't help but appear on his lips, and as he stretched he realized how uncomfortable the clothes he was wearing would be to sleep in. Sighing, he took the vest off, and slowly unbuttoned the white shirt, staring straight ahead in to a mirror as he did so. What are you doing to yourself? The Dane was starting to get sick of that voice. He let out another sigh, not wanting to think about the day awaiting him at morning and the week after that.

He peeled off the shirt and without much thought the black pants as well, folding them neatly (or as neat as he could in that state) and setting them to the side before crawling into the bed, wrapping the covers tightly around him. The bed had obviously not been used in years, and as he stared in the ceiling, his mind began to wander. He wondered what Eirik and Valdimar would have to say tomorrow, wondered if new issues were present that he should be attending to, and wondered most of all when he would be able to see Elizaveta again. He turned to his side, staring out the window as the moonlight filtered in, and slowly, his eyes closed.

* * *

After some while - perhaps ten, twenty, or maybe even thirty minutes - Elizaveta managed to toss Mathias' clothes into the dryer, no longer needing to watch over it. (And, unfortunately, there was nothing interesting she found within the pile or in the pockets. She guessed that he took out his cell phone.) Still thinking that it was too early for bed, she tried to think of other ways to kill time, but gave up and retreated to her room.

However, she stopped before the guestroom, peering through the door left ajar. Elizaveta spotted a giant lump under the blankets, which was steadily breathing, and upon a closer look, Mathias' head. She couldn't help but to grin as she noticed he had fallen asleep rather quickly. Then another idea popped into her head, despite how terrible it was because she knew it was worth it in the end: the Hungarian momentarily disappeared from the front of the guestroom and returned with her camera in her hand. Choosing it best to not enter to let the Dane sleep, Elizaveta took a picture of the sleeping man from the doorway before finally getting to bed.

As she laid in bed, her head on her pillow and arms over the blanket, the Hun didn't close her eyes, but stared at the ceiling instead. She was actually rather thoughtless and shook her head to get herself together, then shut her eyes. Elizaveta waited for a few minutes to see if she had fallen asleep, but ended up turning onto her side and reopening her eyes to stare at her room. _Ugh, I hate these kinds of nights._ Her eyes then wandered over to the flower from Tivoli Garden - it was still flourishing, looking no different than the last time she saw it, and reminded her of her time with Mathias in Copenhagen. She closed her eyes and grinned as the memories replayed in her head, in which sleep took advantage of her, causing the Hungarian fall unconscious.

* * *

Mathias had wished for a peaceful night. He thought he would be able to have one, as he had fallen asleep quite nicely. He had managed to make the most of the night with Elizaveta (even if it wasn't exactly what he wanted), and he had been tired from the long day.

But of course, nothing ever worked out to his liking.

The Viking found himself suddenly awake in the night, his hand clenching onto the bedsheets, breathing heavily as he felt cold sweat staining his body. _God fucking damn it._ He gritted his teeth and his eyes were shut so tightly that he didn't know if he would be able to open them again. Memories had come to haunt him in his dreams. Where his heart should have been it felt hollow, his nightmares tearing apart his insides. _What the fucking hell..._

Blood. That's what he remembered most of. Now, he wasn't queasy-no, far from it. But it was _where_ he saw that blood...he remembered eyes full of hate, eyes full of fear, eyes full of death. He remembered seeing a boy, with his back turned to him, dripping with blood, a sword in hand. Before he could remember anymore he opened his eyes, wishing to find comfort in reality and to forget what had haunted his dreams. _And there was that voice, that terrible, terrible voice... _

The sky was starting to turn to blue, but the moon still settled high in the sky, and the moonlight soothed the Dane. He remembered where he was, and he let out a large sigh. _Just a dream. Just a dream._ He turned to his other side now, and allowed his heart rate to slow back to its normal pace, his breathing also becoming steady. Mathias however didn't want to close his eyes, fearing what he would see this time. But as his eyes settled on the door of the room, he remembered Elizaveta, and just the memories of her alone helped calm him once again. He hugged a pillow tightly against his body, and soon fell asleep again, this time peacefully, the nightmares having done their job for the night.

* * *

Elizaveta woke up energized and refreshed, waking up to the calls of the birds outside and to morning light that filtered through the window. She didn't exactly remember her dream, or even know if she had one, but was certain that she slept well and immediately sat up once she realized that she was awake, then slid off of her bed to do her morning routines. Her eyes happened to catch the clock as she did so, seeing that it was just a bit before 10 A.M. It wasn't her usual wake-up time, but at least it wasn't noon.

The Hungarian had nearly forgotten that Mathias was in her house, and had remembered when she walked out of her room, dressed in the green maid outfit she was often seen in (she was planning to confront Roderich later that day, but disliked the idea of doing so in casual clothes and thus wore it). She stared at the door of the guestroom that Mathias slept in, though rather worriedly. _Doesn't he need to get going very soon?_ Elizaveta thought, remembering that he had scheduled to be with Eirik and Valdimar. She debated whether or not to wake him up, but decided to wait and see if his internal alarm clock would wake him.

She then headed downstairs to pull Mathias' clothes out of the dryer and returned upstairs to set it inside on the guestroom's table, hoping that he would see it. However, when she entered, Elizaveta found herself madly blushing as she discovered the Dane in only his boxers.

Her eyes probably didn't stray away from the heavenly sight for at least a good ten minutes.

After all, his muscular body seemed to glow from the sunlight, his peaceful face against the pillow fed to her happiness, his childlike posture adding to her inner fangirl, and then _down there... _

But after that ten minutes, Elizaveta quickly came up with a better idea before Mathias caught her staring at him for the third time. A _whoosh_ was made as she swiftly walked out, another _whoosh_ back in, and - _snap._ A picture. Now she had something she could stare at for hours and _never_ be found guilty of checking out the Dane. Satisfied, the Hungarian placed the camera back into her room, shutting the door as to suggest and request that she did not want visitors in there, and descended down the staircase to prepare breakfast.

* * *

Restful and peaceful sleep was thankfully granted to the Dane after his horrific experience during the night. He felt the warmth of the sunlight on his body as it gently woke him. Lightly groaning, he stretched and turned onto his back, blinking as he opened his eyes, allowing the room to come into focus. The usual songs of birds could be heard, and he pushed himself up into a sitting position. Mathias looked over to the clock-_It's almost 11:00 AM? I should go soon...though Eirik and Valdi usually don't show up until later in the day anyway... _

He rubbed his eyes, trying to get the last of the sleep out, and his eyes fell on the pile of clothing the Hungarian left him. _She washed them?_ He blinked, and then his eyes slowly came downward. _Wait...did she..._ He lightly blushed at the thought of Elizaveta coming in to see him as he was-boxers-only-but shook his head to get rid of the thought. Stretching once again, he got up onto his feet, and changed into his own clothing. He re-folded the shirt, vest, and pants that the Hun had let him borrow. He quickly made the bed and went to the bathroom to fix himself up. Once satisfied, he left the room, looked around, and went down the stairs to the kitchen.

* * *

Big breakfasts were a part of her culture - she had many plates set out on her kitchen counter with foods ranging from toast to eggs to pastries to bacon to sausages for herself, including some coffee. If anything, it was much like a buffet. The kitchen was filled with all sorts of aromas and every morning, Elizaveta's house was just like this. However, she knew that other countries didn't eat as much as she did for breakfast - such as Roderich, he ate more during the evening - and was considering that Mathias may consume more food during a meal other than breakfast. _That restaurant in Copenhagen did serve a lot for dinner,_ the Hungarian noted. _And Mathias didn't eat much the morning I was at his house._ Now sure that the Dane didn't take down so much for breakfast, she decided to let Mathias choose any of the plates she had spread across the counter and as many as he wanted, and whatever was left, Elizaveta would eat.

Elizaveta was nearly startled to see Mathias in the kitchen - and dressed, at that - after she turned around, squeaking out a small "ah!" before smiling. The sizzling from her frying pan while cooking blocked out any sounds from upstairs, she guessed. She eyed the clock, checking what time it was. _11 already? Time flies when cooking._ "Good morning," the nation greeted the Dane. "Go ahead and take whatever you like - I don't expect you to eat all of it, by the way. My breakfasts are always like this, though I'm sure yours aren't." She chuckled, then poured a mug of coffee and walked over to Mathias, offering him the beverage. "You shouldn't leave without eating, either."

* * *

Mathias could smell the various aromas before he even entered the kitchen, some of the smell having already drifted up the stairs. He saw the Hun cooking, who looked quite happy at that, and looked at surprise at the large amount of food present. He returned her smile, taking the mug with a nod. "Thanks. And thank you for washing my clothes as well." He gestured to his body. "And no, my breakfasts are usually pretty small. This is like a full out buffet." The Dane looked around, amazed by all the food he saw. _Everyday? Wow._ He took a plate and just put a couple of things on it-some toast, eggs, and sausages. He sat himself at the dining table, looking over to Elizaveta in the kitchen. "You sure are a morning person." He laughed, then glanced at the time again. "I'll be leaving shortly after eating, though. I do need to get back." He didn't like the taste of the words he had just spoken, but they had to be said. He quietly then ate his food, enjoying the flavor he experienced from her cooking.

* * *

Elizaveta wore a gentle smile. "Of course." She then found herself chuckling at Mathias' amazement over her breakfast, watching him claim some food to himself, before taking the remaining plates and settling down at the same table the Dane sat at. A small frown appeared on her face once she was told about his departure - it was just too soon. Slowly, Elizaveta nodded and murmured rather reluctantly, "Alright. I understand." _Remember, you do have things to get done,_ she reminded herself, trying to cheer herself up as she bit off a small piece of her pastry. Finding something to distract herself with, the Hungarian glanced around her living room; again, her eyes came upon the miniature Viking boat, then strayed away to look at Mathias. "Do you remember the time you gave that to me?" she questioned after swallowing, testing him rather than wanting to know the answer.

* * *

The Dane glanced up at the Hungarian as she sat down, though eyes downcast again from her words. He could hear the reluctance, but he did concentrate on the fact that she didn't _want_ him to leave. At her question, he looked up, slightly confused. _Gave what?_ His eyes then, too, traveled to the miniature Viking boat. _Oh._ He stared at it for a while, chewing his food as he thought, reaching into his memories. _So long ago...yet I can still remember it. _

Mathias then turned to face Elizaveta again, nodding. He smiled after he finished his mouthful. "Yeah...well, I remember something about Tino and Eirik stopping me from giving it to you, or trying to, because they thought I was just bragging or somethin'?" He shyly looked down, poking at one of the sausages. "But I wasn't, really. You were just sorta...standing there, and you didn't look very happy, I remember." How long ago was that meeting? Centuries, surely. "I...I didn't like seeing someone look like that so I thought, hey!, why not." He nodded again, as if confirming his words, though his gaze remained averted.

* * *

Elizaveta grinned and continued eating as he retold the story, rather pleased with how much Mathias was able to remember. Her smile further widened, rather embarrassingly at that, when he explained the reason for his actions; it was so much like him to do that, even if it really seemed like he was trying to boast. When he finished, the Hungarian had already cleaned her plate with the pastry and moved on to the bacon. "Good, so you remember," Elizaveta said with a slightly teasing tone, as if she expected him to recall that day. Quietly, she whispered, though purposely loud enough for to the Dane pick up and sarcastically, "Why am I not surprised?" She was not commenting about his memory, but about his thoughts during that time.

* * *

Mathias took a bite of the sausage, chewing on the meat slowly, his eyes traveling back up to look at Elizaveta at her words. "Of course I remember." When he heard her whisper, however, he couldn't help but shyly smile as he glanced again to the longboat model. "Just can't help it. Happiness is contagious," he said quietly. It was true-being labeled the happiest nation in the world (along with one of the most peaceful, even though he could be a total troublemaker), he was always trying to cheer up others. Of course, there were many sides of the Viking that others had not seen, and he was trying to keep it that way. Coming back to his meal, the Dane was about to eat up another mouthful, but stopped. He looked up curiously at the Hungarian. "...Was there a reason you've kept it for so long, and that to on display?"

* * *

Elizaveta eyed the toy again, thinking. _That's a good question, actually..._ Once she was done with her bacon, she set aside the plates, stacking them as she thought about Mathias' question. "I think I set it there for display," the Hungarian answered, running a hand into her hair and keeping it there to hold her head. "I don't like putting away or throwing out gifts either, so I guess that would explain it." There were other small presents that were given to her and sitting around the same place as the boat, such as an aged but well handcrafted music box from Roderich and a miniature replica of the crown on Lili's flag. The Hungarian got up from her seat to walk into the kitchen, snatching toast and a mug of coffee for herself, then returned to her seat. "Oh, and how is the food?"

* * *

Mathias nodded at her words. _So it's been sitting there with the other things ever since?_ The Dane finally finished off the rest of the sausage, putting down his fork with satisfaction as he leaned back in his chair, patting his stomach. "It's delicious. Best breakfast I've had in a while." He laughed softly. "I'm not a morning person, so I'm usually too lazy to make myself anything more than toast and some coffee." Mathias then sipped at his coffee, enjoying the warmth of the beverage traveling down his throat, spreading its warmth to his chest and stomach. His eyes drifted to the clock. _Times sure passes by quickly..._ He slowly finished off the rest of his food before sitting back once again, mug in hand, gaze staring into the warm beverage. _To think I'll have to get going soon..._

* * *

Elizaveta smiled as she sipped her coffee. "Thank you," she murmured after removing the rim of the cup from her lips, rather flattered. "And I can well imagine that from you." The Hungarian then quickly finished her coffee, trying her best to finish it as fast as possible while still savoring its taste, before piling up the empty plates and her cup and heading to the sink to wash them. She turned her head to steal a glance at the Dane - she sensed sadness emitting off of him, and frowned slightly as her own heart began to sink from seeing him in such a state. Elizaveta knew well why. "So," she began awkwardly, "you're...leaving in a moment, right?" Though she somewhat failed to, the Hun did her best to cover up for her melancholy tone.

* * *

Mathias laughed softly. "I'm sure you can." He drank up the rest of the coffee as the Hungarian washed the dishes, still staring at the mug until she spoke. "Oh." He looked again at the time. He could hear the sadness in Elizaveta's voice, which caused him both to feel bitter about leaving but also soothed as he knew she felt the same way. "Yes, I do." His voice was soft, a whisper almost. Finishing the last sip of coffee, he got up and quickly washed it before the Hun could object. After doing so he leaned against the counter, hands gripping onto the edge. "Thank you again, Eli. For everything." He spoke gently, his gaze focused downward. The car keys in his pocket never felt so heavy before.

* * *

As she put aside the last washed plate, Elizaveta discovered another pair of hands entering her view to clean a mug. She frowned at them and glared up to her left at Mathias with a disapproving look, but then simply sighed. _We're eventually going to kill each other over something as unimportant as this._ She stepped away from the sink and bent over to a nearby towel to dry her own hands of the water, but then turned her head around to Mathias' sudden word of thanks. _...Everything?_ Her eyes widened from that, feeling her face heat up slightly from a pink blush, but shook her head lightly to return her skin to its normal color.

"No, thank _you_!" she insisted, staring at the ground with embarrassment. She then wondered if she should lead the Dane to the door, believing that he wouldn't be able to depart without her lightly urging him to. Deciding that it was better for them, Elizaveta headed off to her front door, beckoning Mathias with a single glance, and opened the door for the Viking. However, the Hungarian found herself staring outside, admiring the sunlight and the various bright colors from the plants surrounding her home. _...It looks like we'll be on our own paths for a while,_ she eventually thought.

* * *

Mathias blinked at her word of thanks, and seeing her embarrassed look, his lips curved into a small smile. He reluctantly pushed himself off the counter and followed her to the door. He stopped behind her, looking past the Hungarian to the outside world, where the sun was shining brightly in a clear blue sky, bringing out the lush green of the grass and the many colors of the various flowers and plants, giving everything a very dreamy feel. _That's what this feels like, for sure._ The Dane sighed, and finally managed to force a foot out of the house, then the other.

Once out, he turned to Elizaveta one last time, his hands on her shoulders. "Don't forget, if anything happens, you can always give me a call." He paused. He took a deep breath, not wanting him having to say these words. But before he could, Mathias couldn't help but do one thing. He leaned in and kissed her lovingly for a few seconds, possibly a minute. When his lips left hers, he murmured. "Goodbye, Eli." Before he could convince himself otherwise, he went to his car and hopped in, starting it up. _At this rate, it'll be a miracle if I can even back the car out._

* * *

Elizaveta felt her heart deeply sink inside of her as Mathias took one step out - when he made his second foot join the other, she couldn't help but to clench her fist. _Behave like an adult,_ she commanded herself, rattling her fist back into a relaxed hand. To his words, the Hungarian nodded. "Right." She knew that she didn't have to request for his phone number - it was required that every nation have each others' phone numbers, and none of them ever called unless it was important or urgent, which was one of the rules they applied when it came to sharing contacts.

She then heard air escape from the Dane's lips; the woman cocked her head to the side slightly, wondering what else could be wrong. However, Elizaveta found her lips suddenly in contact with Mathias', her eyes once again widening in surprise. A wave of emotions hit her - it attacked her so hard that her eyes nearly glazed over with water. Nothing so powerful had struck her this emotionally, not since the time when she and Roderich filed the divorce papers. But those were _divorce papers_ - this was just a kiss, which seemed to mean so much more to her; perhaps it lasted for a year, decades, or maybe even centuries according to her misleading clock.

She was so stunned that she was having trouble finding the right way to pronounce her own words of goodbye, let alone find them. Eventually, Elizaveta barely managed to whisper out, her voice almost like air, "Goodbye." It wasn't easy to say either - her soul seemed to tear apart temporarily, but quickly recovered (though not completely) as she realized that this was the life she was leading before: alone. The Hungarian's eyes remained glued onto Mathias as he made his way to his car, and had to stand on her own porch in order to keep her gaze on him. _There's always another day...another day..._

* * *

Mathias felt as if something had broken inside him when he heard the Hungarian's goodbye, which carried with him to the car. The ignition started, the Dane gave one last look to the porch, able to see Elizaveta, though barely, and gave a small smile, as much as it hurt to do so. His emotions were on a roller coaster ride, pulling this way and that and doing several upside-down loops that he wasn't sure of what was what anymore. He quickly backed out, and once on the road, he looked back one last time. _Soon. We'll see each other soon._ Gripping the steering wheel tightly, he stared ahead with knitted eyebrows, nodding, as if to confirm his thoughts. He managed to start driving, and soon he was cruising down the road.

"Destination?" the electronic voice of the GPS spoke up, already having loaded a map of the area. Sighing, the Dane answered. "_København__._" The system made a couple of sounds, and soon begun it's navigation. Mathias leaned back in his seat, staring ahead. _Soon._

_

* * *

__**A/N:**_

_Not much happens in this chapter, but lots of emotional stuff. ;~; You can probably tell that we're going to be doubling/tripling/whatevernumbering up as more characters again._  
_Denmark and Hungary in this chapter - excessively romantic. hehehehe _  
_Also, expect some drama coming up soon as we finally got ourselves on a plot line. C:_

_**xNeyu**: Oh, yes - I learned something from roleplaying this part of the chapter and it's that the Hungarians' biggest meal of the day is breakfast. xD Hahaha._


	26. Chapter 25

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 25**

* * *

Elizaveta waited until Mathias' car was completely out of sight; even when it was surely gone, she stared for another minute at the point where it had disappeared, then heaved out a sigh and leaned back against her home's wall. She had a feeling that she would lose her mind if she couldn't see him anytime soon. "Get yourself together," she murmured aloud to herself. "It's time to get to Roderich's." The Hungarian took one step back inside as her brain mentally traveled through the house, checking to make sure she had not left anything unattended. Oh, maybe... Elizaveta returned inside her home, shutting the door behind her, and headed upstairs to retrieve her cell phone and camera, as well as transfer whatever was on the memory card into her computer. She checked a few messages on certain websites, perhaps lurked the web for a moment, and after seeming to relieve herself just _slightly_ from her near-emotional breakdown the Hungarian finally decided to make her way to the Austrian's home.

She hoped that her short walk to her ex-husband's home would further alleviate her stress - after all, exercising, no matter how strenuous, did suppress that. Unfortunately, the walk served little use to her, only killing a short amount of time and making her think more of both Mathias and Roderich. Her stress, too, returned as she saw the Austrian's home in her sight, and tried sighing to calm herself down. Again, no success. She tried to ignore her distressed state and instead focused on how she would talk to Roderich, entering his territory and walking onto his porch. Her hand reached out to the doorbell, though immediately withdrew as she heard a distant sound - no, _notes_ - beyond the door. _...He's playing the piano...I shouldn't disturb him. But he doesn't mind if I come in without his permission - his maids usually let me in anyways, whether or not I arrive during his piano practice._ Elizaveta dug in her pocket for a key, which was given to her long ago so that she could access his house when she was still living there, and silently opened the door; even now, Roderich trusted that she wouldn't do anything careless or selfish with that privilege.

The music was much clearer to her now that she was inside Roderich's home. Elizaveta shut and locked the door behind her, heading to the source of the music without even needing to think where to go, as it was second nature; the Hungarian slowly strode down the hallway, taking her time to analyze the piece playing into her ears. Occasional but gentle crescendos and decrescendos, a mellifluous and steady tempo, a trill here and there in the melody - it was too easy to recognize. _Chopin...of course._ He recited that composition well too many times. However, the way he played the song - it was surprisingly calm, perhaps even deserving the title 'mannerly', showing that Roderich was not angry at all. Though, she could tell that he was playing that to pacify himself. She didn't need to worry - she knew well how to approach him.

As she entered the spacious room, her eyes came upon the pianist - his back was facing her as he swayed from side to side, completely absorbed in his flawless mastery of performing the piece (nope, no sheet music, as expected of him); Elizaveta then took a deep breath before walking into what seemed like land that prohibited any trespassing, and stopped about a foot away from the piano and Roderich. He did not react or maybe even notice her presence, but the Hungarian was adapted to it and waited for the piece to end before speaking. However, Roderich seemed to finish the music faster than she thought, his hands still sitting on the keys of the pianississimo notes longer than they should have.

Elizaveta didn't know whether to begin speaking or wait for Roderich to initiate the conversation - but the Austrian was waiting on her to start, as she was the one who came to him, in which only silence rung through the air as if an extended fermata was added as the final measure of Chopin's music.

* * *

Mathias could not remember a longer drive.

He had turned onto the nation-only road, and it seemed like it was never going to end, or more specifically, reach his borders. He sped down the road, as he would normally, the tires smoothly traveling the cement, the vibrations of the car soothing. The landscape around him was a blur of green and blue and yellow and gray. To try and get his mind off of things, he turned on the radio, pressing various buttons to switch around the stations. First one he turned to was playing what sounded like a rock song, the guitar and drums prominent as the male vocalist belted out the lyrics. Now that was something the Dane could listen to at the moment...or at least he thought he could.  
"_...So many thoughts that I can't get out of my head, I try to live without you, every time I do I feel dead...I know what's best for me...But I want you instead...I'll keep on wasting all my time...Over and over, over and over, I fall for you, over and over, over and over, I try not to..._"

He glared at the radio, immediately hitting another button. _Stupid fucking songs._ He relaxed as a dark trance song played, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. He was doing his best not to think of the Hungarian that he had fallen for and instead concentrated on what lay ahead. _Eirik and Valdi are coming over...hopefully nothing is up. The economy...well, that's an issue every where right now..._ Yet he soon found his thoughts constantly going back to Elizaveta, and he let out a heavy sigh.

Finally, _finally_, he reached his territory, and eventually, his home. He slowly parked at his house, looking around and seeing that the other two Nordics had not arrived yet. _Good._ He quickly got out and ran inside. Mathias breathed in the scent of his own home, closing his eyes for a moment, remembering it was here that the two nations had made their confessions, of their feelings for each other. He hung the keys up in their usual place and ended up keeping the clothes he was currently wearing on. Stretching, he prepared coffee for three, and leaned against the kitchen counter, waiting, again trying to pry his thoughts from the Hun and focus on other things.

There was a sudden ringing sound, and before he could go to the door, the Viking heard the _creak_ of the door opening and feet shuffle in before a firm _click_ of the door's closing.

"Mathias?" He heard the Norwegian's voice, and before he could respond, he, along with the Icelander, was at the entrance to the kitchen area.

* * *

The Icelandic nation soon followed in after his brother, lightly embracing his puffin in his arms. He was wearing his typical, somewhat confused expression on his face; though his facial expression may say that, Valdimar was truly calm and content underneath. His soft violet eyes darted from side to side to examine the house, as he feared that Mathias could have gotten into more trouble here like the last time he came, but deemed it safe. The black and white bird decided to fly around the house to double check for his owner, and soon returned and perched onto the Icelander's shoulder. Valdimar exchanged eye contact with his puffin, and from the looks of it, nothing too bad seemed to happen. _That's good._

Finally, the white-headed nation rose a hand as a greeting. "Hey Mathias." His nose twitched at the smell of the coffee waiting for him and Eirik, looking forward to drinking it.

...

Elizaveta had to internally punch herself to start speaking and break off the awkward silence. "Roderich-" She purposely cut herself off upon realizing how abruptly she started off. The Hungarian quickly cleared her throat, but found out that she did not need to speak another word, as the Austrian rose from his seat and made eye contact with the Hungarian, murmuring, "_Hallo_, Elizaveta." She saw that his expression was neither happy nor angered - actually, she was hoping that he was like this. It meant that Roderich was controlled and composed, and she couldn't wish for anything better at the moment.

Roderich began to walk off and gave Elizaveta a nod, beckoning her to follow him. Knowing this signal too well, she reciprocated a nod and trailed behind him; he led her and himself into his office, in which they both took a seat on either side of the desk after the aristocrat had shut the door for privacy. Yes, sitting in his office to talk made it seem more like a conference, but discussing personal issues in the living room seemed too inappropriate. Both nations exchanged concerned looks before Roderich began, repeating the woman's name, "Elizaveta...I don't mind if you have interest in Mathias."

Her eyes automatically widened as her back straightened up in complete shock and at a loss of words. She didn't expect him to express himself right away, or even approve of the Dane, but he seemed to know her very well; he knew that she wanted his opinion and still cared for him. However, her body relaxed as she knew that her ex-husband had something else to say, as he would never have a chat that last for just one sentence - unless it was Gilbert. That, though, was a different story. As Elizaveta expected, Roderich continued, "But...are you sure he's the one you want to be with?"

No matter how ridiculous that question sounded (Roderich, too, seemed to be embarrassed to ask that too), Elizaveta thought about it; she did start falling for Mathias at an unusual time, and very early at that. But she believed that the last few days she spent with him told her enough about the Dane to the point where she could say whether or not she wanted to stay with him. Her lips were then ready to speak and Elizaveta murmured almost painfully, "...Yes, he is."

Silence came upon them once again, though much shorter than before. Roderich didn't seem too convinced; she couldn't blame him. "Are you aware of the things he can do to you and the consequences that come along by being with him? I'm not trying to get you out of this relationship, Elizaveta - I simply dread what could occur and..."

"I understand, Roderich." The Hungarian nodded her head once more to further confirm her thoughts. "I know that this can raise many political issues, but..." She allowed her sentence to be left incomplete, but then finished them once she was able to form the right words. "I can't help it. I'm attracted to everything about him. As you said before, I probably do form better relations with other nations - you may dislike Mathias, but he has proven to me his worth and good reputation." The memories of her time with the Dane zipped through her head again, her heart aching from him. Her voice lowered to murmur, "We have the same feelings for each other, too."

* * *

The Norwegian nodded towards the Dane. "_Hei._ You know, you never responded to my message..." Eirik's eyes traveled to the coffee waiting for them. "But I can see you got it."

Mathias eyed the puffin before looking up in surprise. _Oh damn, that's right, I never did reply..._ He smiled at the two fellow Nordics. "Heh, sorry. I just read it and forgot about confirming anything with you." He gestured to the table before walking over and sitting down himself. Eirik followed suit, taking the mug of coffee that Mathias offered to him, cupping it in his hands. He looked around the Dane's house, allowing memories from the past to flash through his mind. He then focused his attention on Mathias, his face as unexpressive as always. "How are you?"

Such simple words. The typical conversation starter, a phrase heard so many times that answering it was automatic. But no, this time, the Dane felt like he was hearing those words for the first time. _How am I...I wish I knew._ He forced a smile before looking down into the coffee, his arms resting on the table. "I'm fine. And you two?"

Eirik slightly frowned. "We're fine." The Norwegian knew the Dane too well to see that he was forcing a smile. He slowly took a sip of the coffee, pondering what to ask the other nation. Moving the mug away from his lips and setting it down on the table, he inhaled. _...Wait._ If he wasn't imagining things, Eirik was positive he smelt something...flowery? Something sweet, something...feminine. His eyes slightly narrowed, and he stared at Mathias, his voice cool. "So you've been with Elizaveta?"

The Dane looked up, though not surprised, making eye-contact with his friend. He blinked, then slowly nodded. "Yes, I have." He sighed, bringing the mug to his lips. _He knows me too well._ He took a long sip, thinking, then put it back down, leaning back in his chair, wondering what the other Nordic would say.

_I knew it._ "...And?" Eirik glanced at his younger sibling before returning to eye Mathias, who he noted looked calm but slightly distant, as if his mind were on other things. _Which it probably is._ He perked up, slightly leaning against the table, elbows on top, with his chin resting on his intertwined hands, raising an eyebrow.

"And..." Mathias slowly started. _And..._ "And...we both...we both have the same feelings for each other." His eyes suddenly had a look of confidence, nodding once. Eirik blinked, then sighed, closing his eyes. "Is that so..." He murmured. He opened his eyes again, looking to the side to glance at Valdimar. It was strange to see the Dane like this...lovesick. He was usually always cracking a joke or laughing or suggesting a night out at the bar. The only time the nations got to see his serious side was during meetings, or when he got _really_ angry.

Mathias glanced at the time, then looked back to the Norwegian and Icelander. "So...what did you two come here for? Surely not only to check up on me."

* * *

There was something about Mathias that was bothering him - again. He was acting...different. Acting...strange. He couldn't touch upon it until he realized that he wasn't as lively as he was in the past. _He's...mature?_ Valdimar wanted to say, which was amazing to think about. Mathias was always happy, never sad...or let alone being as 'normal' as this. The Icelander cautiously took his cup of coffee, sipping a small amount out of it, and settled into one of the chairs at the table. The answer that Mathias gave to his brother, his tone of voice...it all confirmed his suspicion that the Dane was not himself. _If Elizaveta is completely changing his personality, I won't approve of that._

As he set his cup down, Valdimar could detect the different air. His eyes moved up as he took a deeper breath, then shifted to his right to glance at Eirik. He didn't need to say a word - the Norwegian asked Mathias exactly the same thing he was wondering about. And he wasn't too surprised to hear that he spent his time with Elizaveta again either. Once his brother made eye contact with him, Valdimar looked away and at Mathias. He, too, raised an eyebrow at his stammering. _Just say it._ The Dane seemed to read his mind, as he let himself spill out his response. The Icelandic nation felt himself sitting up a bit more, his eyes displaying mild shock. _...So...does that mean it's official, that they're together?_ He wasn't too sure about the answer to that and shrugged it aside - probably, one way or another, they would be.

"That, and we thought we should hang out for with you," Valdimar replied to Mathias' question. "We figured that we shouldn't distance ourselves from you and that we should keep in touch."

...

Another pause came upon the once wedded couple. Elizaveta was staring down at her fingers, which were gently twiddling around as she wondered what the Austrian would say next. After a minute, Roderich opened his mouth to speak again. "From my point of view, I would have honestly said that Mathias doesn't deserve someone like you, Elizaveta." The Hungarian considered Roderich lucky that she highly respected him, as she would have exploded into anger and walked out of the room; she, too, knew the context behind his words. Roderich did not know Mathias all that well and could only say something about the Dane whenever they met - and their last confrontation was not a good one. "However, if what you said is truly the case, I will not object."

Elizaveta nearly sparked with joy and had to suppress her happiness, keeping still in her seat and having entirely forgotten about his previous words. A thankful smile, though, escaped onto her face, in which nothing could push it away. Roderich, too, returned a small smile, though his expression turned serious soon after. "But...if I hear anything dangerous that has happened to you that troubles you and relates to Mathias in any way, I will not hesitate to take action."

The Hungarian, surprised at first, nodded in comprehension. _So he still worries about me too. I shouldn't stop him._ Her smile widened significantly as she chirped, "Thank you, Roderich. Please don't worry about me too much." Elizaveta rose and bowed to him, stressing her respect and thanks for the Austrian, before departing the man's home; she had never felt so carefree and relieved of her problems in centuries, if not her entire life. _Did it really go by that well?_ Elizaveta thought incredulously. Now that her major problems were lifted from her shoulders, she was highly tempted to call Mathias and just tell him how glad she was at the moment. However, the Hun resisted, as she realized that she should not interrupt him. Her heart seemed to sink a bit from his absence, but was barely able to set it aside as Elizaveta remembered that she should visit Lili, her fellow female neighbor, to tell her about the news.

* * *

Eirik nodded at Valdimar's words. "Yeah...that one night reminded all of us of how distant we've become. And, well..." He paused. "We figured you probably always think we're ditching you. So here we are." The Norwegian leaned back in his chair, his arms sweeping outward as if to emphasize his words, before returning to his mug of coffee.

Mathias couldn't help but grin at that, and laughed warmly. "Aw, thanks, glad to see you actually care." He said with a teasing tone. It truly did make him happy to see the others want to talk and be with him, and right now he found that he needed their company to keep himself from thinking of the Hungarian. He then gulped down the rest of the coffee, promptly getting up to wash it, and looked over at the siblings over the kitchen counter. "Well, if that's the case then, what do you two want to do, now that you're in the great city of Copenhagen?"

The Norwegian rolled his eyes. _That's the Mathias I know._ "Whatever is fine with me." He looked to the Icelandic notion. "I know, how about youngest picks? Valdi, that's you." He smirked, knowing how annoyed the young Nordic nation could become whenever he was teased about being the "little brother".

...

Lili was sitting on her front porch, enjoying a cool breeze gently tousle her hair. Vash had gone off somewhere to deal with some matters, so she decided to return to her small home, not wanting to be in his large one alone. She swung her feet back and forth as she sat on the bench swing, watching the outside world. A few birds flew in the sky, playing as they teased at each other and made different formations, singing happily. The leaves of trees rustled in the wind, and the sunlight warmed her skin. She had a lot going through her mind lately, with so many different issues popping up here and there, even if she was neutral or really had no part in them. The female nation sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, she thought she saw a distant figure walking. Blinking a few times, wondering if the sun was playing tricks on her, she leaned forward, squinting. Lili smiled upon realization and hopped up onto her two feet, waving. "Hi, Lizzy!"

* * *

Valdimar chuckled into his cup when Mathias' normal personality seemed to return to him. _Let's just hope he can stay like this._ Upon Eirik's words, the Icelander's eyebrows knitted as he mumbled a 'shut up'. Eirik often hit him too well when it came to their 'family', especially the brothers situation. He pretended that he never said that and continued after putting down his coffee, "Ah, I don't know...maybe we should just walk around and see if we can find anything that interests us?" Suddenly, he wondered if Elizaveta had been in Copenhagen, since her scent was lingering in this house. _He probably took her around..._ Then Valdimar imagined what it could have been like for Mathias to be dragged around by a girl; an amused smirk flashed onto his face. _Heh, would have liked to watch that._

_...  
_

The Liechtensteinerin had caught her before she was able to make out the nation. Elizaveta wore a wide smile on her face and waited until she reached the small girl to speak, lightly grasping her hands. "Lili, you probably won't believe this," the Hungarian said, trying to keep down her volume and excitement as well as maintain her formalities. "I spoke with Roderich just now, and he seems to be fine with my feelings for Mathias." Her grin seemed to shut her mouth so much to the point where she could not speak, her emotions pleasingly overwhelming her. "I'm so happy, but this seems so unreal!"

* * *

Eirik snickered, quickly finishing up the rest of his coffee. He then nodded, agreeing with the Icelander. "Yeah...there is plenty to do in _Kbenhavn_ after all, right, Mathias?" The Norwegian looked over to the Dane, expecting him to suddenly start gloating and boasting about his capital. Mathias grinned before chuckling and stretching his arms above his head. Nodding, he crossed his arms, his usual cheerful aura surrounding him.

"Of course...lots and lots of things. Things that can't be covered in one evening alone..." The Dane paused, his thoughts traveling back to the night that he and the Hungarian had spent in the city. He closed his eyes momentarily, smiling as the flashback, before opening his eyes once more to knock him back into reality. Eirik noticed this, and couldn't help but smirk. _He really is head over heels for her, isn't he?_ He snickered quietly into his mug so that only Valdimar could possibly hear, then sat it down, empty, on the table. "Well then," the Norwegian started. "Let's go."

...

Lili smiled brightly as Elizaveta approached, though was a bit startled as the older female nation took her hands. However, upon hearing her words, the Liechtensteinerin smiled even wider, her eyes shining. "What, really? I'm so happy for you!" She threw her arms around the Hungarian, "That's fantastic! Now you don't have to worry about something bad happening. Or at least for the most part." She giggled, and then opened the door to her home, waving the Hungarian in. She sat in a small couch and gestured to the one next to it for Elizaveta to also sit on. "So," she started. "Tell me the details!"

* * *

Valdimar raised an eyebrow at Mathias' last sentence as well as his peaceful expression. _Can't be covered in one evening? What's with him saying that?_ He looked at his brother from the corners of his eyes to see if Eirik had any idea - as if using telepathy, the Icelander immediately understood what was going on and quietly chuckled along with his brother. _He likes her that much._ "Ah, right," Valdimar agreed, nodding, and drank the rest of his coffee quickly, chugging it down. He then got onto his feet and headed out the door, feeling the puffin on his shoulder shift a bit from side to side. "Eager to go outside, huh?" he mumbled to it, gently patting its head with a gloved hand.

...

Elizaveta nodded delightfully, then gave her a rather curious look, wondering where she was heading off to. When noticing that the blonde was motioning to her to come into her house, the Hungarian willingly entered to join her and closed the door behind her, settling on the sofa adjacent to the one Lili was sitting on. "Of course you'd want to know the details," Elizaveta murmured, laughing. Though it was personal, she didn't mind explaining to her what happened, especially since Lili was her close friend. "I came into Roderich's house and heard him playing the piano...and he was playing a calm piece of music, so I could tell that he wasn't too upset. When he finished the song, he took me to his office to ask me questions about Mathias...and he wasn't too concerned with Mathias himself, but more for my welfare."

* * *

Mathias, oblivious to the snickering and chuckling of the siblings, nodded and patted his pockets, making sure he had his phone and wallet. "Alright then, let's go!" He grabbed his keys, happily walking out the door to his car. _At least they'll keep my mind off of Elizaveta...hopefully._ He unlocked the car and got into the driver's seat, starting it up as he waited for the other two.

The Norwegian got up and put his mug in the sink, then soon followed the Dane out the door, walking coolly with hands in his pockets. He glanced back to make sure Valdimar was following, and then hopped into the passenger seat, slouching and leaning back. "You've always had a nice ride..." He murmured. Mathias simply laughed, shaking his head, before saying with a grin: "Why thank you."

Eirik shook his head, and then looked out the window. Deciding to poke around more, he asked smoothly: "So...did Elizaveta enjoy Copenhagen?" Mathias stiffened at the question, glancing at him. He kept his response cheery: "Yes, she did. Quite a lot, actually."

...

Lili smiled, giggling softly. _She is really happy._ "Well, that's good to know that Roderich still looks out for you. See? You had nothing to worry about. He just needed time to think it over." She nodded, as if confirming her words. She then leaned back on the coach, stretching out her legs a bit, letting out a sigh of relief. _So everything will be fine...Lizzy won't have to suffer through any conflicts with Roddy._ As she breathed, she thought she could smell something strange. It didn't belong to her, and it surely did not belong to Elizaveta. Sitting back up straight again, the young female nation looked curiously at the older one. ". . .Have you been with Mathias?"

* * *

The Icelander slipped into the car and sunk into one of the back seats, then pulled over the seatbelt and secured it. His back and head was comfy against the leather - even more convenient for him, Valdimar was able to see both Mathias and Eirik in his field of vision. _I don't have to strain my eyes, then._ His bird hopped down onto his lap, resting on his legs as the nation placed an elbow against the window while wearing a bored look. However, his eyes narrowed and shifted over to gaze at Mathias' head with interest after his sibling questioned the Dane's time with Elizaveta; a smirk crept onto his face, which only widened when his answer was a positive one. Valdimar dared himself to push it a bit more by asking, "Where did you take her?"

...

Elizaveta returned a nod, grinning somewhat nervously. "Yes, you're right." She then remembered that tiny smile Roderich displayed when he told her he would not disapprove of Mathias; her heart seemed to spark in ecstasy. The hint of nervousness in her smile disappeared as she continued dazing off, but then snapped back into reality once Lili asked her where she had been. The Hungarian widened her eyes momentarily, a little surprised by the question. "Ah...yes, I have. I-Is it too obvious?" Her hand lightly grasped a bundle of her hair, moving it to the front of her face to look at. _If it's easy to tell, then...that's not good. Anyone passing by me will know that I've been somewhere if they can distinguish my scent and Mathias'..._

* * *

Mathias backed out into the street and drove off, glancing in the rear view mirror to catch a glimpse of the Icelander. _...Great, now they're going to purposely pester me with it._ "Oh...around." Eirik looked out of the corner of his eyes to see the Dane, slightly smirking. "Around? Where around?" He had to do his best to not laugh. It was too amusing to think of Mathias on a date, much more a relationship.

The Dane flashed a glance at the Norwegian, but kept his voice cool, knowing that the other two nations were purposely trying to fluster him. "Did some shopping, went walking around, went to Tivoli, then got ourselves hooked into some game, that we won, and got a free dinner at Noma." As he recounted the events, he realized that the two really had gone on a date, even if not officially declaring it as one.

Eirik, trying his best not to smile as Mathias spoke, nodded. "I see. . ."

...

Lili smiled sweetly at the Hungarian, shaking her head. "No, it's not that obvious. I just happened to pick up on it." The girl then couldn't help but wonder what Elizaveta had been doing with Mathias, and decided to ask her gently and innocently. "Did you two go around and do some fun things?" As she spoked, she got up, walking over to grab a small jar on the counter, placing it on the small table between the two female nations. Opening it, there were some small candies in it, and she offered the jar to the Hun. She giggled. "I'm sure you must have had a good time with him. You're glowing!"

* * *

_Shopping? I wouldn't be surprised to see that out of Elizaveta. And Tivoli...I really shouldn't be surprised. What a perfect dating area._ Valdimar then slowly returned his eyes back out the window, staring at the scenery whizzing past the car. His lips formed a smirk as he thought up of a comment. "Doesn't seem as if you had fun there - were you dragged around unwillingly by Elizaveta like most girls do to their boyfriends?" The Icelander knew that he might get hurt for this - but if Mathias flushed from his question, the sight of him doing so would be worth getting beat for.

...

"Ah, that's good," Elizaveta murmured, sighing. She simply began to assume that Lili knew her too well - and she wouldn't have been surprised. Her voice remained low but happy as she confirmed, "Yes, we did a lot of enjoyable things. Now that I think about it, it's really surprising to see how much fun I even had." Her eyes watched the other nation move around her home and retrieve a jar, in which the Hungarian delicately picked out a piece of candy from it, removing the wrapper and setting it inside her mouth. The sweet flavor pleasingly overwhelmed her tastebuds as the Liechtensteinerin remarked about her, causing Elizaveta to smile widely.

* * *

Eirik perked up at his younger brother's question, and looked over to Mathias. _Oh, Valdi, I've taught you well..._ A smirk played on his lips as well as he waited for his friend's reaction.

The Dane stiffened, not realizing a light blush had appeared on his cheeks as he tightened his grip on the steering wheel. As they had reached a stoplight, he turned to shoot the Icelander a glare, before turning to face the front again. _These guys really did only come to harass me, didn't they?_ "I enjoyed it just fine...and yes, she did." He wasn't sure how to reply to the girlfriend and boyfriend comment, and instead just shook his head. Soon, they were in the city, and Mathias again found a spot in the parking garage. He quickly hopped out, and waited for the others before locking up the vehicle.

...

Lili smiled. _It's good to see her so happy...I can't remember the last time I saw her like this._ She hugged the Hungarian, slightly squealing. "This is great! So..." She pondered, wondering what to say or ask. At this point, the Liechtensteinerin was happy to just be with her friend. "...are you planning on spending some more time with him soon?" She smiled and also took out a piece of candy, unwrapping it and plopping it into her mouth, chewing contently, She glanced at the time. _Wow, time passes by quickly._ She smoothed out her dress and sat back down.

* * *

Valdimar's lips curled up into a small smirk upon witnessing Mathias' face turn slightly pink. _I personally haven't seen him ever become like this before..._ And he would probably see more of Mathias' embarrassment, he guessed - honestly, the Icelander thought it was rather amusing. He was (and still is, essentially) a Viking, he once ruled over the Northern Europe, and yet here the Dane was, getting flustered over a simple teasing comment. _It'll be fun to see what will happen to him these next few days..._

After the car had parked, the Icelandic nation exited the car and checked on his brother, wondering what he thought of Mathias' relationship with the Hungarian. _Knowing him, he just might think of the same way as me, or tease him even more._ Valdimar felt a pair of talons gently grip his shoulder, then glanced to his right to look at his puffin. "Hm, we should have invited Tino and Berwald along. They usually brighten up the mood..."

...

Elizaveta more than willingly returned Lili's hug, enjoying the warmth and happiness that diffused through her. As the girl sat back down, Elizaveta thought for a few seconds about her question. "I just recently spent some time with him," she murmured. Her heart started to ache; her lips pursed for a moment before continuing, "He stayed at my house for the night, and he left this morning to be with Valdimar and Eirik - er, Iceland and Norway, if you don't know their names. I'm not sure when he'll be coming back, but I do hope that I can spend more time with him afterwards." She displayed a small smile, though the ache remained in her chest. However, the pain wasn't too strong and Elizaveta could deal with it - she _had_ to. "Oh, and how have you been these last several days?"

* * *

Eirik straightened out his shirt once he was out of the car, smoothing it down from the wrinkles the seat belt had caused. The Norwegian was dressed in his casual clothes-a pair of black skinny jeans with a red shirt and blue jacket. _Oh, this will be fun, if we can get reactions like this from Mathias._ He looked over to Valdimar, and could see that similar thoughts were running through the Icelander's head. Thrusting his hands into his jacket pockets, he nodded at his brother's comments. "Yeah, but Berwald apparently ran into some issues...some rioters have been causing a disturbance in Stockholm. And I couldn't get a hold of Tino, so here we are."

Mathias perked up at Eirik's comments, and wondered what exactly it could be that was keeping Berwald busy. Shaking his head, figuring it was a personal issue for the Swede to deal with, he made his way to the streets of Copenhagen. "Well then, it's just the three of us..." Suddenly, the Dane thought he heard something. Shouts? He frowned, glancing at the other two, and quickly made his way down the street to the source of the noise. _This is towards Christiansborg Palace, parliament..._ He turned a corner, and froze. A mass of people wearing red shirts and waving red flags. _A protest?_ He listened to their yells...something about the government planning to cut spending on welfare and public services. As if on cue, Mathias' phone rang, and he immediately picked it up.

"_Hej?_"  
"_Herr Danmark?_"  
A chill ran down his spine-Mathias knew that tone of voice well, and after a quick conversation, hung up and looked at the other two. "Sorry guys, looks like boss wants to see me."

...

Lili observed her friend, not being able to hold back a smile. _Stayed the night?_ She nodded slowly as Elizaveta spoke about meeting soon, calmly commenting: "I'm sure you will. It really sounds like you two are more than happy with each other." She giggled and leaned forward, her elbows on her knees as she rested her chin in her hands. "Oh, I haven't been up to too much...Vash has been having to deal with a couple of things. I'm just mainly trying to keep things together here-with the global economy in the state it's in, I've had to deal with that." She shook her head. "It's crazy. But it's good to know everyone is going through this together." She paused, then looked at the Hungarian curiously. "Lizzy, do you think there will be a meeting called soon? That would give you a chance to see Mathias, wouldn't it?" She smiled, not being able to get over how cute the idea of Elizaveta in a relationship with someone (besides Roderich) was.

* * *

Valdimar frowned upon the news his brother had given him. "...I see," he simply answered, allowing himself to be lost in his thoughts as he walked alongside Eirik and Mathias. The few of them had been getting into several issues lately, including himself, though his own problem wasn't too bad that he was able to be with his brothers today. He realized, however, that the two missing couldn't get out of it. _I hope they're okay._

He heard his puffin start calling out in alarm, which pierced the young nation's ears and caused him to flinch. His eyes immediately darted towards the bird - it appeared to be focused on something ahead. Valdimar shifted his gaze in front of him, opening up his senses. Distantly, there was a mixture of what seemed to be hundreds, if not even more, voices that seemed to be chanting in Danish. Picking up their words, Valdimar realized that something was wrong and closely followed behind Mathias, who had taken the lead. After turning at a corner, his eyes came upon a sea of people; he held his breath from such a scene. _What's...going on?_

Valdimar then gazed at the Dane for some answer, his eyebrows slightly knitting; however, Mathias had answered a phone call and waited with a bit of worry for him to finish. The Viking ended the call rather quickly, to their luck, and the Icelander widened his eyes. "Your boss?" He remained mute for a moment, thinking; if it was his boss, of course it had to be something important. "If you need us to leave now, then that's fine."

...

Elizaveta nodded in agreement with Lili's words about her relationship with Mathias. Surely, he was romantically interested in her - and of course, she looked at the Dane in the same way. Her mind momentarily drifted away from Mathias as Lili told her of her current situations. The Hungarian answered, "Well, that doesn't sound like anything new for you. Nothing good or bad is happening, either, so I guess things are going alright for you." A smile adorned her face. "Though, speaking of Vash, he and I have some problems of our own - I'm sure you know about it, the forints? - but I think we'll be okay." _I hope._ Dealing with Vash was rather...difficult at times, especially because of his ill temper. Sometimes she wondered how Lili was able to tolerate and live with him.

"And a meeting? Now that you mention it, there should be one coming soon." At the Liechtensteinerin's mention of Mathias, Elizaveta couldn't help but to smile brightly. "Yes, I would be able to see him then, but..." She paused, thinking about what could happen at that meeting. "...I shouldn't remain too close to him. I don't want to imagine how strangely the other nations there would think of us...and the possible political issues..."

* * *

Eirik had frozen when he saw the scores of people protesting outside of the Christiansborg Palace, home of the Danish parliament. _Oh great._ He also looked over to the Dane in worry, and nodded at his younger sibling's words. "Yeah-looks like you have something to deal with. This is a pretty big protest..." The Norwegian again looked at the sea of red. _At least it looks like a peaceful one...no one is really causing much of a commotion. _

Mathias frowned, also looking over to the crowd. The three of them were somewhat hidden from view, which was just as good, because if any of the protesters noticed the Dane, he would have an earful of complaints to listen to, which he really wasn't in the mood for. "Well...it looks big, but I'm sure it will be resolved soon. After all, it looks organized and peaceful." He listened to the chanting again. _They're just upset with the government, is all._ As long as it had nothing to do with starting a war, the Dane was quite relieved. Before he could say another thing to his fellow Nordics, however, Eirik's phone rang.

The Norwegian swiftly drew out his phone, frowned as he saw the caller identification, and picked it up.  
"_Hei?_"  
"Mister _Norge, drlige nyheter._"  
Eirik mentally cursed. _Bad news? But..._ After exchanging a few words, he too hung up and pocketed his phone. "Great, looks like everything is happening at once. I'm getting blamed for sending spies, again." He rolled his eyes, then looked to his brother. "So much for this outing. It best be if we split up and head back to our homes to see what's up-Valdi, you probably have some issues you've got to take care of too."

Mathias let out a sigh. _So I come back, and_ bam!, _things just spark up everywhere._ "Good idea, Eirik. We can catch up later-and all of us. Hopefully Berwald can get things under control, same with Tino." Another glance to the crowd. "I better head over before anything turns ugly. I guess I'll see you guys-again, sorry. _Farvel._" Mathias nodded to the both of them and then quickly walked up to the palace, gave the guards a look, and was let through. He made his way to the meeting room, and burst in.

"What's going on?"

...

Lili slowly nodded at the Hungarian's comment on Vash. "Yes, I do know-he was mentioning it the other day. Something about how your people were using the Swiss francs for loans, but now the forint is dropping in value, right? He'll be wanting to speak with you when he gets back." She looked up the the clock. "He probably won't be at his home till later, though, if he even comes back today." She glanced at Elizaveta, and wore a small smile. "I'm sure everything will be fine. He didn't seem too upset...he was in the middle of one of his rants of how the rest of Europe was getting on his nerves." She giggled. It was always amusing to see her older sibling talk about how it was so great to be neutral and that he was glad he had nothing to do with some of the affairs between nations, usually because he would eventually get off topic and start ranting about something completely unrelated.

The Liechtensteinerin blinked at the Hungarian at the mention of possible politics. "Ah...well, yes, the others may be a bit surprised by it. But I doubt it should bring up any concerns-after all, both you and Mathias as well as the rest of Nordics have been on good relations for quite a while, and I don't believe he has any issues with the others around here." She gave a small smile again. "Of course, besides Feliks, though their arguments are usually entertaining. And it's a minor issue anyway." She waved her hand.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Lili perked up, glanced at Elizaveta, then ran to the door, slowly opening it. Her eyes widened. _What a coincidence._

"Hi Lili! Like, where is everyone? I've been totally tryin' to like find people and-" The Pole burst into Lili's home, and froze upon seeing Elizaveta there as well. A delighted grin adorned his face as he ran up and nearly tackled her in a hug. "Liz! Like, I've been looking for you! Like, my phone? It's being, like, retarded and stuff." Feliks frowned as he shook his head. Lili sighed, though with a smile, as she closed the door and joined the other two in the living room, seating herself again as Feliks made himself at home. "So, like, what's up?"

* * *

As his brother and the Dane spoke with one another, Valdimar silently and calmly scanned the scene, thinking to himself as he listened to the two. _Organized and peaceful,_ he reiterated in his head. While his puffin moved restlessly between his shoulders, occasionally including his head, Valdimar wondered how long these problems were going to last - luckily, the five Nordics were able to meet up several days ago just to spend some time together, and right before issues were rising in their own countries.

His thoughts were snapped off as another phone rang; he sharply turned his head to look at Eirik, reading his expression as the Norwegian removed the device from his pocket and examined it. From what the Icelander saw, it didn't seem too good. _Great._ He released a sigh when Eirik suggested that they take their own roads for now, then nodded. "Alright. Good luck taking care of the problems." Valdimar shifted his gaze over to Mathias. "You too. Bye, Eirik, Mathias." Quickly, he departed, walking at a rather fast pace in order to get where he needed to be and slipping out his own phone to answer an incoming call.

...

Elizaveta lightly chuckled at what Lili had to tell her, showing off a half-worried smile. Though the nation in front of her found it somewhat amusing for her brother to be in such a situation, the Hungarian still felt rather concerned for the Swiss since he was involved in so many things. _I guess it can't be helped, Vash is always like that. At least Lili can put up with it._ She straightened up as Lili expressed her opinion about the other nations' possible thoughts about her new bond - which didn't seem new at all to her - with Mathias. Elizaveta was pretty relieved to hear that she personally thought that it shouldn't cause any problem and displayed a smile, nodding. She was just about to thank the Liechtensteinerin until she heard a knock on the door, perking up from the noise, and watched Lili make her way to the door. Her eyes widened upon seeing another one of her close friends, Feliks.

She was nearly startled by the sudden hug that the Polish nation gave her, yelping then laughing as he did so. "Feliks! It's been a while," Elizaveta murmured with a grin. "I'm sorry that you haven't been able to find me, but here I am! You should get your phone fixed soon." Her green eyes came upon Feliks with a gentle but bright look. "I was just talking to Lili about..." The Hungarian paused when she came upon a realization when she shouldn't have. "...You know, the relations between the nations recently. We figured that we should update each other with whatever has been happening."

Then another but rather pathetic knock came from the door. Without waiting for the house's owner to open it, the door seemed to come alive and creaked open by itself. However, the inanimate object surely wasn't alive as Toris, the Lithuanian, appeared before the three of them, breathing heavily. The nation had a rather disheveled appearance, with stray strands of hair sticking out, his face masked with sweat, and his clothes unfixed. He first leaned against the door, then slumped onto the doorframe, gripping onto it with a hand for support. His words were interrupted by his panting. "I'm...sorry, Lili, but I saw...Feliks run...into your house and...I couldn't catch up in time..." Toris allowed himself a few more seconds to catch his breath, and once regaining his energy, he stood up and adjusted his posture, entering deeper into the house and lightly shutting the door as he wiped his forehead. "I hope Feliks didn't intrude on anything important." He raised his hands that waved back and forth with insistence. "If you need us to, we'll leave, but I'm really sorry if we came at a wrong time."

* * *

Mathias sighed, staring outside an office window, a paper cup of water in his hands. The protesters had eventually dispersed, making their point clear, and the city was back to normal, as if nothing had even happened. He had talked with his boss and several others, got into a heated argument, and had probably scared most of parliament to death when he slammed his fist down on the table, sending several papers flying. He had managed to cool down, though, and after some discussions, the meeting was adjourned. Thankfully the issue wasn't as big as he originally thought, and his people seemed to just want to make their opinion on new policies heard. The sun was lowering as evening approached, and after finishing the water in his cup, he crushed it before dunking it into a recycling canister, swiftly turning around and walking down the hallway, hands in his pockets.

"_Herr Danmark._" Mathias perked up and looked back upon hearing the voice, and saw one of the several government officials from earlier. He almost looked scared to approach the tall nation, but kept his voice official, though with a hint of concern. "I was told you were...confronted, a couple of days ago, in _Strøget_." He straightened his back before continuing. "And that you were also with one of the other nations..._Fr__ø__ken Ungarn_, I believe. Is this true?"

The Viking blinked, then nodded. "Yes, that is true." He himself straightened his back, a tad worried that the man was bringing it up. The government official grimaced, then continued. "Why was it not brought up to us? _Herr_, anyone showing you or another one of the others disrespect in any form is in need of punishment. It is a disgrace to even call them your people, and you mustn't let such foolish beha-" He was cut off when Mathias raised his hand, a sign for him to stop, as he shook his head, though with a smile on his face.

"Don't worry about it. We took care of the issue and gave them a lesson I doubt they'll forget. And I can take care of myself. Thank you for your concern, though." He turned back around to continue walking down the hallway, one hand at the back of his neck as he sighed. _Man, I didn't realize they would hear word of it, though I should have known. Thankfully he didn't ask what I was doing with Elizaveta..._ He exited the building and headed down the street, his eyes again drifting to the sky as he became lost in his own thoughts.

...

Feliks nodded, leaning back against the sofa and crossing a leg over the other, waving a hand in the air. "Like, yeah. That's sorta why I like came here, 'cause I figured that Lili could like totally take a look at it, y'know?" He looked over to Lili, who blinked at him and then nodded with a smile. "And updating? That sounds like a totally fab idea." He took out his cell phone as he spoke, frowning at it, then looked back up. Before he could say anything else, however, another knock at the door was heard.

Lili got up immediately, though found the door opening before she could reach it. Her eyes widened in surprise as the Lithuanian appeared and entered into the household, and she reached out, lightly holding his arm as she led him over to the other two. "Toris, it's okay. Goodness, let me get you some water." The Liechtensteinerin quickly ran over to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water, promptly returning to hand it to the newly entered nation. "And you're not intruding on anything. We're just talking, is all."

Feliks blinked at Toris, then shook his head. "You really need to, like, learn to keep up sometimes. I, like, didn't even realize you were tots still behind me!"

* * *

After what seemed like days, Valdimar was finally released from his duties for the day. Luckily, it wasn't too serious for him - or rather, it was the typical thing that he was being called in for, the volcano eruption - so the meeting was centered on only that and he didn't really need to do anything. He figured that he should pay Mathias a visit to see how he was doing, after coming upon that protest all of the sudden earlier that day.

As the young nation wandered around Copenhagen, his bird sitting on his shoulder as it usually was, he spotted the Dane, who seemed to be trying to relieve himself of the earlier stress, and quickly walked up to him. His hand rose as if to catch his attention as he called out, "Hey, Mathias." Once at a nice distance for conversation, the Icelander continued, "From the looks of you, it seems like everything's alright. I recently tried visiting Eirik, but he's still busy with his work, so he won't be back for a while - if he can return, that is. The same goes for Berwald, and apparently Tino's involved with his own problems right now too." Valdimar shook his head slowly. "There's a lot going on. I'm glad you got out early."

...

Elizaveta blinked a few times, almost overwhelmed by the sudden visitors. "Toris! You should really take a seat; you look as if you're about to pass out." As usual, the Lithuanian was being the typical worry-wart, concerned with his Polish friend coming over without calling and interrupting the female nations. She watched Toris accept the cup of water Lili had offered him, taking in great amounts of water for each gulp. He finished the drink in one run, sighing heavily and with relief after removing the cup from his lips.

"Thank you, Lili. Yes, I'll sit down now before I faint..." He settled down next to Feliks, though frowned at him for his words. After catching a bit more of his breath, Toris countered, "B-But I was calling out to you to slow down! You just continued speedily walking off to Lili's without even stopping to wait for me..."

The Hungarian released a small breath of air, amused by the two. _...They look cute together._ Snapping out of her ideal realm, she then remembered Feliks' earlier words and displayed a small frown; she didn't want to tell the nation about her relationship with Mathias, nor was she ready for it. Also, Toris was here, and she wasn't all too close to him. For her to reveal information to the newcomers would just be too...dangerous, she felt. Elizaveta decided to talk about Feliks' initial reason for coming here. "Oh, that's right! I nearly forgot that Lili was really tech savvy." A smile came upon her face as she gazed at the Liechtensteinerin. "Cell phones shouldn't be of any problem for you to fix, right?"

* * *

Mathias' mind had been in several places as he strolled the streets of his beloved capital, including the past few days as well as the past years-memories sparked by the nightmare he had experienced just recently. He tried not to dwell on such dark thoughts, but it couldn't be helped, and it was dampening his mood. However, to his great relief, he heard a voice call out to him, and looking up he saw the Icelandic nation making his way towards the Dane. He stopped, waiting for Valdimar to reach him, and nodded at his words.

"Yeah, there really does seem a lot to be going on. Thankfully the protest wasn't too big of a deal, that's why I'm free now. And I guess you're okay too...was it just volcano stuff again?" He couldn't help but laugh. The poor Nordic had been under a lot of pressure as of late due to nature's ways. Shaking his head, Mathias started walking again, leading Valdimar into a caf and settling down in a corner by the large windows showing the street that they had just been on. He sighed, slouching in his chair, and looked at the Icelander. "You think a meeting will be called soon?"

...

Feliks move an arm to put around the Lithuanian's shoulder, and shook his head. "I couldn't even like hear you. You need to like totally learn to speak louder!" He then gave Toris a small smile, unintentionally showing that as much as he picked on the nation, he still cared about him. Lili took the now empty glass from Toris and nodded at Elizaveta, smiling as her eyes traveled to the phone in the Pole's hand.

"Oh, yes. I wouldn't mind looking at it, Feliks." The Polish man extended his hand with the phone, which Lili took with her free hand before wandering back to the kitchen to put the glass in the sink, her eyes focused on the device. Feliks watched her, perking up as she returned. Lili pressed various buttons on the phone, her face serious and concentrated as she analyzed it. "Well, it doesn't seem to be a software issue..." She then put the phone on the table and pulled open a drawer, taking out a small screwdriver as she opened up the phone. Once open, she stared at it, and then looked back up at Feliks, her expression clearly showing she was trying not to laugh while at the same unbelieving. "Feliks! No wonder you're phone has been acting up-you got water in it!"

The Pole blinked, his eyebrows raised. "W-what, no way! Like, that's it? Aww man, it must have like, totally happened when I like, got shoved into a lake by Gilbert." Feliks rolled his eyes, letting out a huff of breath. "I like totally forgot I had my phone then!" His voice almost whined as he looked at his dear phone, depressed. Lili shook her head, chuckling, and got up with the device in her hand to the entrance of a hallway. "Nothing a hair dryer can't fix. I'll be right back." She then disappeared into the hallway, leaving the other three nations to themselves in the living room. Feliks smiled happily before leaning back again.

"Like, I knew I could trust that girl to totally help me out!" He then turned to look at the Hungarian, a curious look on his face. "So, like, Liz, what have you been up to, anyway?"

* * *

**_A/N:_**

_As you can see, both Hungary and Denmark split up again, so the two of us are going to roleplay more than one character again. And the chapter's organization gets messier, haha. (Sorry. OTL) We've also added Poland and Lithuania for some added fun. |D_

_Um, Norway and Iceland get a little bit out of character in this chapter - at least, Iceland does. Sorry about that. There's a story to why I made him act that way. Er...let's just say that we do these 'mini-RPs' through MSN, and it sort of got cracky. Yeah. xD; ~insane~_

_Again, we've added various real life problems and situations of Finland, Sweden, Denmark, etc. into the RP. ~too lazy to explain~ They're definitely Google-able. |D _

_Also, Denmark asks Iceland about a possible meeting in the future - he's talking about the European Union meeting here, and Iceland isn't in the EU, though has applied for it. For this RP, just to make things easier, let's assume that Iceland is already in the EU, yeah? |D;_

_**xNeyu**: ...I think I overused the word 'surprise' in one of my posts, hahaha...where was my brain then? xD;_

_And eep! Sorry for the delay in uploading this. . .to make up for it, and since the cut off is...meh...going to go ahead and upload the next chapter...which starts the intense drama, oh yes._

_OH! And the song that was playing in Denmark's car was "Over and Over" by Three Days Grace. All rights to them for those lyrics and such.  
_


	27. Chapter 26

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 26**

* * *

Valdimar frowned upon Mathias' laughter - it was great that he was still himself, but the issue with the volcano shouldn't be taken lightly. He knitted his eyebrows slightly in irritation, but simply sighed quietly to calm himself down. "Yeah, it was just about the volcano again. We're just doing a few more things to clean the air." As the Dane began to walk away, the Icelandic nation lifted his head up to watch where he was going for a few seconds until he decided to catch up and trail behind him.

Realizing that Mathias was entering a cafe, Valdimar decided to approach the salesman and order coffee. _I need some of it, anyways, after that meeting..._ He quickly paid and received his beverage, then settled down in a chair at the same table the Viking was at. After taking a small experimental sip out of the drink, Valdimar nodded and answered, "At this rate, yes. We're in need of one, anyways."

...

Toris' frown strengthened on his face, staring incredulously at Feliks' smile. "But I was _yelling!_" However, as the Polish nation became distracted with trying to fix his phone, the Lithuanian knew that it was pointless trying to further convince him that he really did try to get his attention. _I give up,_ he thought with an accompanying sigh, watching the Liechtensteinerin and his friend interact with each other. Elizaveta, too, was closely listening to them.

Once Lili announced that the device was dysfunctional due to water, Elizaveta couldn't help but to laugh softly at Feliks' expression, as Toris blinked a few times. "I can imagine that you'd never find that out," the Hungarian teased. Her bright face was quickly wiped off as Gilbert was mentioned, her eyebrows now knitting in frustration. _Is he up to no good again?_ She never enjoyed it when the Prussian caused trouble, especially for own friend. "I'll make sure to beat him up the next time I see him," she muttered rather darkly, temporarily changing from her lady-like demeanor to her Hunnic one. Luckily, Elizaveta returned to her normal self as Lili made her way out of the room to fix Feliks' cell phone, then perked up at the Pole's question. _I was hoping that he wouldn't remember that...I guess it's no use._ She debated how much she should talk about Mathias, let alone if she should speak about him at all, but chose to give a brief summary of her last few days calmly.

"I happened to meet Mathias the other day because he had nothing to do and came down to my place," Elizaveta began, trying to keep herself relaxed. She noticed that Toris wore a somewhat surprised face - he wasn't expecting for her to say that, but remained silent. "We invited each other to our capitals so that we could know more about our cultures. It's rather strange, but it doesn't hurt to set a good impression on other nations." The Hungarian forced a small smile, hoping that she didn't sound obviously nervous.

* * *

Mathias watched the Icelander sit down, coffee in hand, and sighed. He waved over one of the employees, who understood his signal immediately and brought over a bottle of beer. The Dane was in the mood for alcohol, and thankfully the cafes carried a selection of alcohol along the normal caf items. He popped open the cap, taking a sip, and then nodded. "We are in need of one. Things have been happening left and right, and it doesn't help with the state the economy is in right now." He massaged his temples, shaking his head. "I wish everything could just work out for once."

He looked again outside the giant glass window, watching some people walk by as the sky was slightly stained by orange, the sun lowering further in the sky. A meeting would mean he would get to see Elizaveta again, and secretly, he wished for one to be called as soon as possible. He took another sip of his beer before returning to Valdimar. "If anything, we Nordics should at least call a meeting if there isn't a Europe or Global one...an actual, professional meeting." The Dane mused over how different the nations could act in and out of meetings, himself included. But when matters were serious, everyone got down to business right away...most of time.

...

"Mathias? Oh." Feliks blinked, wondering about the Danish nation. "Well, I'm sure he was like, _totally_ showing off Copenhagen. Like, he always seems to boast." Feliks paused. "Though he's, like, not a bad guy, I guess. I just wish he'd like, agree with my view on the maritime border." He momentarily frowned, but returned to his usual expression as he looked at Elizaveta. "But, like, I heard about Emil. Don't tell me that you two are totally at it again."

As the other three kept themselves busy, Lili had escaped to her bathroom to use the magic of heat to fix the Pole's phone. Once done, she put the phone back together again, and smiled as she saw it could properly work by testing calls between his phone and hers. She happily walked back to the living room, rejoining the group, and handed the phone back to Feliks. "There you go, as good as new. It should be working now." She smiled, and then sat back down, smoothing out her dress.

Feliks took the phone gladly and played around with it. "Ah! It like, totally works now! Thanks a bunchies, Lili!" He pocketed the phone, patting it once, before looking up to show his content expression. Lili shook her head. "Not a problem." She then looked to the time, then out a window, noticing that the sun was slowly making its way to bed. "Since you all are here, would you like to join me for dinner? I don't think Vash will be returning tonight." The Liechtensteinerin looked to the others, waiting for a response, though hoping they would all say yes.

* * *

The white-headed nation couldn't help but to frown with concern when Mathias requested for a bottle of beer, his eyebrows again knitting together slightly. He allowed a bit more of his coffee to escape through his lips and into his mouth, absorbing the heat the drink had for him, then replied, "They're just small problems. Fortunately, none of it is too serious." Valdimar eyed his puffin when he noticed it hop off of his shoulder and onto the floor, glancing around curiously. Knowing that it wouldn't do anything harmful, he looked back up at the Dane. "That sounds like a good idea. I've been hearing some things going on in the rest of Europe too, so I'm sure there's going to be something planned soon."

Valdimar shot up suddenly in his chair, nearly knocking over his coffee with an arm (he caught it while it was moving in circles), and dug around his jacket's pocket for his vibrating cell phone. _Dammit, not again..._ However, what he expected didn't occur - rather, he received a text message and quickly read it. "'EU meeting tomorrow at Brussels at 8 A.M.' Well, what a coincidence. A little strange that we're getting late notice on this." His eyes met Mathias' as he murmured, "Did you get a text message too?"

...

Elizaveta was greatly relieved that Feliks didn't notice her unease, though had to wonder if Toris picked it up. She glanced at him - she felt some slight suspicion, but it was small enough to let it pass by without worry to him. "Yes, he did show me Copenhagen with a little bit too much pride." The Hungarian laughed softly at the Pole's complaint, then sighed with distress as Emil was brought up. _Do I have to talk about him?_ Her tone of voice changed slightly as she muttered with a hint of hate, "It's just him this time. He's whining about the dual citizenship I've been considering for a while now."

"Dual citizenship?" Toris finally joined in, in an attempt to contribute to the conversation. "I know that most of us here don't generally allow that, and that's completely understandable, and I'm sure you know that, Elizaveta...but if Emil is against it because of you in particular, then that's just unfair." He shook his head, facing the ground as he did so, but then lifted it back up as he saw Lili return. "If I recall correctly, he is pretty racist towards you..."

Both Elizaveta and Toris muted themselves as Feliks retrieved his fixed cell phone, watching him happily thank the other female nation. The Hun perked up after Lili offered them dinner, peering outside the window to estimate the time. _She's right, it's just about dinner time..._ "Sure, I'm in for-"

Her sentence was interrupted by the various, multiple, and simultaneous rings from what seemed to be coming out of nowhere. Elizaveta blinked twice when she barely managed to make out her own phone's noise and shuffled around for it in her pocket. Toris did the same thing, though seemed to fumble nervously as he did so. The Hungarian skimmed the new message she received and murmured, "EU meeting...tomorrow?" Her heart nearly burst with delight from the news, as she realized that she would be able to see Mathias again. However, a small frown came upon her face when she almost forgot that those meetings were more for informing other nations about themselves rather than reuniting - but even so, Elizaveta would still get a chance to see the Dane. _Mathias...you don't know how much I want to see you right now..._

* * *

Mathias was about to say something, but ended up feeling a vibration and heard a melody play along with the Icelander freaking out before a word could leave his lips. His own eyes watched the coffee that was thankfully saved as he dug his own phone out. "Yeah, got a message too..." Even though Valdimar had already read the message out loud, he still opened the message to see it for himself. "Tomorrow, though? That's such short notice...now I have to pack." He sighed, almost whining as he spoke, and took another big sip from his beer.

But then he remembered the a meeting meant he was going to be able to see Elizaveta, which immediately perked him back up, and he happily sat his bottle on the table and sat up straight, thumb stroking the side of his phone. "The usual place...bleh, that means we have to book hotel rooms, don't we?" He frowned, then looked up at the Icelander. "Should we call up the others?" _Eli, please tell me you're going to be there..._

_...  
_

Feliks blinked at the Hungarian, and then nodded at Toris' words. "Yeah, he's probably like, just purposely trying to totally frustrate you. Like, you two have been having a total on-and-off relationship...sometimes you two seem like total friends, and others I'm like, totally amazed you two haven't like, killed each other." He shook his head, sighing.

However the Pole practically jumped at the sudden sound of vibrations and melodies, feeling his own just-pocketed phone vibrate against him. Lili watched the others take out their phones, at first startled by the sudden assault of noise. She and her brother weren't members of the EU, after all, so she waited patiently for the others to read their messages. The Liechtensteinerin looked over to Elizaveta when she spoke, and revealed a small smile as she could see the happiness in the Hungarian's eyes. _So Lizzy does get to see him soon after all._

Feliks frowned as he lowered the phone from his face, however, his expression showing annoyance. "_Tomorrow?_ Like, what short notice! And you like, totally know how these EU conferences are...like three freakin' days!" He sighed. "I totally have to like pack everything and then head out, and we need to book hotel rooms...ugh, like, Antonio like totally better have a good reason for calling this meeting like, so soon!" He crossed his arms, pouting. Lili couldn't help but release a small laugh, shaking her head. _I wonder if Vash knows about it...he'll be bugging Roderich for information afterwards..._

* * *

Valdimar's eye twitched as the Dane chugged down a large amount of the beer, resting his elbow on the table as his face sat in his hand. _He's drinking that as if it's a stress reliever._ "Well, one now is better than holding it off until later." His eyebrow then rose as he witnessed Mathias sit up straight in his chair. _Sudden realization?_ he assumed, then shook his head and swallowed down the rest of his coffee. After the cup was empty, Valdimar gently set it back down onto the table and answered, "Yeah, we should - and we need to start packing right away, too."

He then rose from his chair, catching his pet's attention, and beckoned Mathias with a small tilt of his head. From where he was standing, Valdimar particularly noticed a slight change in expression on the Dane's face. He seemed...happier, in a way? _Why would he be happy-_ His thoughts snapped off as he himself had an epiphany. _Oh. Elizaveta. I almost forgot that she and Mathias are in a relationship right now._ "Let's get going."

...

Toris began to panic, squirming slightly back and forth in his seat. "Y-You're right, Feliks! I really need to start packing and then book a hotel, and..." He trailed off to let out a small whining but worried noise, then turned around to Lili as he stood up. "I-I'm very sorry Lili, but I think I'll have to pass dinner with you for now. There's little time to waste...um, maybe we could plan something another day to make up for it?" A nervous smile came upon the Lithuanian's face, hoping that she wouldn't get mad at him (even if she was one of the sweetest people he knew of) and that she would accept his offer.

Elizaveta was distracted in her own little world, a small smile appearing on her face as she roamed there. _Since we have to stay at a hotel for a few nights, that means I'll be with Mathias for several days...I can't wait!_ Her smile temporarily brightened. _Though, the other nations will be watching..._ As she came upon that thought, the Hungarian returned to reality, and began to worry if anyone caught her. For sure, Toris didn't, as his back was facing her - but Lili and Feliks definitely could have spotted her. Luckily, even while she was distracted, Elizaveta picked up the others' conversation and started thinking again. _Toris is right, there's not too much time to pack up and get to Brussels. I'll have to miss out on dinner with Lili as well...but I'll stay here until after Toris and Feliks leave to talk to Lili for a little while longer._

* * *

Mathias nodded, chugged down the rest of his beer, and set it down, as well as with some money to pay for the beer as well as a tip. He scooted his chair out and got up, putting his phone back into his pocket and taking one look around to make sure he wasn't forgetting anything. He clasped a hand on Valdimar's shoulder as they walked out, letting out a slight sigh. "You'd think Antonio would have given more notice...I wonder if it's an emergency." He thought about it for a few seconds, then shook the thought away. "I guess we'll find out. But hey, I guess we'll be rooming together as always, right?" He flashed the Icelander a grin. "Eirik...I wonder why he doesn't want to join." Mathias moved his hands to inside his pockets, shaking his head.

As he led the Icelandic nation back to his car, the Dane pulled out his phone and hit his speed dial.

"_Hej?_"  
"Hey Berwald, got the message?"  
"Oh, yeah. Tino an' I will be roomin' t'gether as 'sual, an' bookin' at the usual place."

After discussing a bit more about the arrangements, Mathias hung up, and by that time the two Nordics had reached the outside of the parking garage. The Dane turned to the Icelander, sighing. "So, I'm going to guess you have to head back to get your stuff ready. Berwald seemed to have already taken care of booking two rooms, so we're good to go on that." He ran a hand through his hair, thinking about the next day. _So close, yet so far._

_...  
_

Feliks immediately stood up after Toris did, nodding to Lili. "Yeah, Lili, like, sorry 'bout this, but we totally have to go get ready for like, the meeting." The Pole put a hand on the Lithuanian's shoulder, letting out a small laugh. "You are like, such a total worrywart. Don't like, freak out, yeah? We'll totally just like book the same hotel we always do...and like, room together as usual."

Lili shook her head, lightly and softly laughing. "It's okay, you guys, I understand. Don't worry about it-and yes, we'll definitely plan for dinner together sometime soon!" The Liechtensteinerin led the two nations towards the door. "Now, don't get too caught up in the moment," She paused, looking particularly at Feliks. "Antonio probably has a good reason for making it such short notice." Feliks nodded slowly, even if he would rather complain about it. He grabbed Toris by the wrist, and turned to the Hungarian. "Byeeee Liz~! We'll like, totally see you tomorrow, yeah? Cool." He grinned and waved before practically dragging the Baltic nation back towards their homes.

Lili watched them leave, then closed the door, looking back to Elizaveta. "Shouldn't you be going as well? After all...you get to see a certain someone, am I right? That must be the reason for that sparkle in your eyes." She covered her mouth with a hand as she softly giggled. She had seen the daze the Hungarian was in earlier, and no doubt she was thinking of her recent days with a certain nation.

* * *

Valdimar automatically halted in his steps when Mathias placed a hand on his shoulder, only slightly flinching in reaction. He turned his head to make eye contact, pondering about his words. _An emergency..._ "Yeah, we'll room together," he answered calmly, purposely ignoring what he said earlier. "And we shouldn't pressure him into joining. He has his reasons."

The Icelander then followed the Dane back to the parking garage, but not before he stretched out an arm for his bird to perch on, and waited patiently for the Dane to finish his conversation with Berwald. He gazed upon the scenery Mathias' capital had for him to distract himself on the meanwhile, thinking about what could be discussed at the meeting the next day. _The five of us definitely have something to say...though...would Elizaveta announce something about herself and Mathias, or maybe even Roderich would do that? No, if it was going to be someone, it may be Gilbert...he tends to talk too much whenever I see him around..._

Finally reaching the garage, Valdimar again faced Mathias as he spoke and nodded. "Right. Thanks to Berwald, packing seems like the only thing that we have left to do. If you want, I'll let you know when I'm done and we'll head over there together."

...

"R-Right, but the hotel might be getting occupied as we speak, and then we'll have to look for another hotel..." Toris then, again, gave up in trying to talk to the Pole as he was literally dragged outside. Making sure that he at least said some sort of goodbye to the female nations, the Lithuanian strained to twist his head around and waved a hand to the two. "G-Goodbye, Lili! I'll see you tomorrow too, Elizaveta." The last thing heard from him was a yelp as he continued to be dragged by his friend to prepare for the meeting.

Elizaveta chuckled with some concern, also waving back before the two left her sight and replying, "Bye, you two! Don't get ahead of Toris again, Feliks!" She shook her head lightly, smiling as she thought about the close friends. However, before the Hungarian was able to drift off into her daydreams yet again, she was caught by the Liechtensteinerin.

"You know me too well!" Elizaveta laughed, unaware of the light blush that reddened her face. She got onto her feet, still wearing a smile, and approached Lili to lightly grasp her hands. "Yes, I'll have to get going as well - thank you so much, Lili. I'm really glad that we could talk. Oh, I owe you a day to spend dinnertime together, too." Another soft laugh escaped her lips before the Hun released the other nation's hands and made her way outside the door. "Goodbye, Lili, and take care. I'll make sure to update you if anything happens." She winked, knowing that the smaller nation would understand what she meant.

* * *

Mathias nodded, his eyes glancing at the slowly darkening sky. "Sounds good to me. You better hurry up and get packed-if the meeting is at eight in the morning, we'll have to leave ASAP. Just give me a call when you're done, then." He did a small two-finger salute to the Icelander as he turned around and went into the garage, striding to where his car was parked. Though he usually would have been complaining about a meeting, he couldn't help but smile as he thought about how Elizaveta would be there as well.

Climbing into his car, however, he thought about everything else. _If the others find out...what will they say?_ He shook his head. _It doesn't matter. None of their business anyway..._ He closed the door and put on his seat belt. _The conference will probably end up being a three-day thing, since things always get chaotic at these meetings. And if a NATO meeting gets called afterwards..._ The Dane turned on the engine, feeling a surge of joy. _So I won't be parted from her for long, after all._ He backed out of parking, and zoomed out of the garage, heading to his home.

...

Lili looked up at the Hun as she grasped her hands, smiling warmly. "Don't worry about it Lizzy-and we'll make sure we get to have dinner together soon!" She followed Elizaveta a few steps out of her door, standing on the porch of her small home. The Liechtensteinerin laughed softly at her words and nodded. "You better. All I'll be hearing about otherwise is whatever Vash manages to get his hands on." Lili waved to her friend, wishing her a farewell. "Goodbye, and I hope everything goes well for you!" _In more ways then one._ To see the older female nation have such a glow of happiness as she departed greatly comforted the Liechtensteinerin. _I can't remember the last time she was like this, if ever. Mathias, you better take good care of her. . . _

* * *

Valdimar nodded. "Right. I pack fast, so expect a call soon." The Icelander returned a similar salute, though using his entire hand to substitute his words of goodbye. As he walked away to his own car, he was surprised that he didn't hear any whining coming out of the Dane; Valdimar grinned and shook his head. _I guess that's what a girl does to him._ His puffin seemed to listen to his thoughts and stared curiously at him as he got into his car, in which the nation then displayed a small smile. "At least he's not acting like a kid anymore," he murmured.

The white headed boy slipped the keys into the car, though didn't start it nor drive off until Mathias did. _Ah...I shouldn't fly back to my own house to pack...I have plenty of clothes at Eirik's, right?_ Most of the time, Valdimar was at the Norwegian's house and had decided long ago to live in the same house as Eirik, since it was more convenient for him - it saved him from flying back and forth between his island and the other nations' lands. His brother was even kind enough to give him an entire room to himself. _Plus, I just flew back and forth today...I'm not willing to book another flight._ Eventually, Valdimar reached his sibling's home and parked his car, climbing out of it and stepping inside casually with his black bird. "I'm back for a bit," he called out, in case Eirik was in the house.

...

Elizaveta lifted up a hand as a final signal of farewell before turning back around to return to her house. The same smile still decorated her face while she walked away as only Mathias remained glued to her head: his smile, his eyes, his laughter, and his scent...she nearly thought that her nose picked up his scent and even glanced around to see if he was there. To her disappointment but not to her surprise, the man she held close to her wasn't in sight - only Lili's house, which was still a few meters or so away from her, was glanced upon. She sighed. _You'll see him soon._

Her spirits were then uplifted once more from thinking about Mathias, but then something seemed to turn over in her stomach. Her eyebrows knitted. _...There's something wrong with me._ Within the blink of an eye, Elizaveta found herself clawing at her clothes that covered her stomach, eyes widening as she held her breath. Something she didn't know of was causing her body to become upset, and before the Hun knew it, Elizaveta was on her knees, hacking out blood as a layer of water masked her eyes from internal pain. However, this wasn't the first time this has happened to her - she had a good idea of what it could be and she was almost sure that she was right. "Dammit - _Emil!_"

* * *

Mathias reached his house much faster than he thought, and figured it must be because his mind had been on a certain Hungarian the whole drive. He jumped out of his car and quickly ran into the house, unlocking the door in one swift motion and closing it behind him. He sighed, looking around his house, then sprinted up the stairs to his room. The Viking wasn't one who liked to be rushed, but the short notice on the meeting called for it. He brought out his briefcase as well as a suitcase, opening up both of them.

Mathias opened his closet and grabbed his business attire, folding and throwing his several suits into the suitcase, and grabbed a couple of casual wear items as well. After throwing in all of his other necessities, the Dane went to his desk and unlocked and opened a drawer where he kept all the important paperwork, and put them into the briefcase. He stuck the briefcase in the suitcase and then zipped and locked it up.

_I don't think I have ever packed that fast before._ He smiled and shook his head. Catching himself in the mirror, Mathias thought it best to change since he had already worn the same clothes two days in a row. He slipped into a pair of black skinny jeans and a red collared-shirt, putting on a white jacket for good measure and his favorite checkered scarf. The Viking then jumped down the stairs and grabbed an apple from the kitchen, munching happily as he waited for the Icelander's call. _I wonder what Eli is up to right now. . ._ He took out his phone, pondering if he should send her a message or a call.

...

Lili watched the Hungarian walk off, though she remained on the porch, enjoying the late evening breeze. She started daydreaming herself, wondering about Elizaveta and Mathias, and then about Vash, and then those cute drawings he always made...

Suddenly, the Liechtensteinerin was snapped out of her daydreaming as she noticed Elizaveta was still nearby and...

_Oh my god._

Lili nearly shrieked, but kept her calm as she ran down the steps of her porch and sprinted up to the Hun, the smell of blood hitting her nostrils as she knelt down beside her. "Lizzy? _Lizzy_? Oh my god, are you okay? What a stupid question, of _course_ you're not okay!" The small nation was stronger than most thought, and she put an arm under the Hungarian's arm, wrapping around her, and stood up, hoisting the Hungarian with her. However, it was a futile effort, as Lili couldn't support Elizaveta back to her house.

"Lili-my god, Elizaveta!" The Liechtensteinerin had never thought she heard such a beautiful voice before. In a matter of seconds, Lili felt the weight of the Hun be lifted off her as Vash picked up Elizaveta and held her in his arms. The Swiss looked at the ground to the coughed up blood, and shook his head. _Not good._ Without a word, Lili's older sibling swiftly walked back to her house, entering carefully and settled the Hungarian down on a sofa. He placed a hand to her head, frowning. "Elizaveta, are you alright?"

* * *

The Icelander stood in the doorway for a few seconds, waiting to see if Eirik would respond to his arrival. Deciding that he wasn't around, Valdimar then shut the door and headed up the stairs to pack. _He better not be doing any black magic or anything to scare me._ At first, he didn't keep that on his mind too much, but then couldn't help but to glance around - just in case. The nation then shook his head and sighed. _Don't worry more than you should be._

His puffin followed closely behind him as Valdimar came into his room and snatched his suitcase and his small luggage particularly used for these kinds of meetings. He opened one drawer while unzipping his luggage, but then realized that it was already filled with neatly folded, fresh clothes. "...Huh." The Icelander then turned to his suitcase and unlocked it, revealing papers that were set in place and ready to go. _...I must have packed it after the last meeting out of boredom or something._

Quickly, Valdimar headed back out to his car with his belongings, tossing them into the backseat and once again driving off, this time to Mathias' home. He whipped out his phone in the meanwhile and texted the Dane 'I'm coming' with an agile thumb using one hand, the other preoccupied with the steering wheel.

...

"No, Lili, I'm fine, it's just another-" Elizaveta then abruptly broke off in the middle of her words to choke out more blood from her mouth, spitting to get rid of the salty and potent taste on her tongue. Her throat felt unusually dry, though such was the effects of blood present in the mouth, and her stomach seemed so knotted up that the Hungarian was nearly convinced that she was dying.

She then felt the Liechtensteinerin attempt to support her and take her back into the house. Elizaveta was just about to demand that she stop until Vash appeared before them, who didn't help her anyways - the Hungarian had something to do, and wriggled in the Swiss' arms to resist him. Fruitless with her lack of strength, she was about to speak again to convince him, but then was unable to due to her body's position as she was dragged back into Lili's home, and found nothing better to do than to watch the red liquid slowly drip off of her mouth and onto the floor beneath them. However, once she was placed down onto the sofa, the Hungarian immediately sat up (much to her stomach's discontent) and nearly snapped, paying no attention to Vash at the moment, "_I need to see Emil._" Her eyes flared in anger, her Hun side obviously present, and she slid a leg off of the couch to get herself going, despite her condition.

* * *

As Mathias looked down at his phone, the screen suddenly lighted up and he felt the vibration run up his arm as the usual jingle rang from the device. _So he's on his way._ The Dane ran up the stairs and grabbed his suitcase, looking around his room and patting his pockets to make sure he wasn't missing anything, then sprinted back down the steps (though after making sure his bedroom doors were closed and locked). He grabbed a couple of snacks and water bottles before walking out to his car, throwing the suitcase into the trunk. He put the food items inside and then waited in his front yard, sitting on the roof of his car as he enjoyed the cool weather, allowing his mind to wander.

He felt something strange, something nagging him at the back of his head, but he couldn't figure out what it was. It gave him a bad feeling, and he shifted uncomfortably. _That's strange. . ._ Mathias frowned, pondering what it could be. _Is it a sign...?_ The Dane shuddered at the thought. If it was a reaction to something happening, it only made him feel worse. _What could it be. . ._

...

Lili squeaked at Elizaveta's reaction, stepping back. _Emil? Could it be..._ She looked at her friend with great worry, not sure what to say or do. She looked over to her older sibling, who had also backed away a bit as the Hun tried to get up. Vash knitted his eyebrows and a hard frown formed on his lips. He glanced around. _She'll stop at nothing to get to Emil...but I can't let her just be like this...and I can't let her go alone._ The Swiss sighed. He wasn't one to get tied in the affairs of others, and if he stopped the Hungarian from seeing the Slovak, he would end up getting in a mess. _Guess I have no choice..._

"Alright, Elizaveta. But no way in hell am I allowing you to go by yourself in such a state." With that, he picked up Elizaveta in his arms and walked back to his car, which still felt warm as he had arrived only minutes before. Lili followed after her brother, grabbing her keys and a bucket, locking the door behind her. She ran ahead of her brother and opened the passenger door of the car, allowing Vash to place the Hungarian inside. The Liechtensteinerin then handed the bucket to the Hun, knowing that at any moment she could cough up even more blood. The Swiss jumped into the driver's seat, his sister settling in the back, ignited the engine, and slammed on the acceleration, zooming down as he made his way as quick as possible to Emil's place.

* * *

Once the Icelander reached Mathias' home, he was able to spot the Dane on his own car and parked his in some place where it would remain safe for a few days. Valdimar twisted around the driver's seat to grab his luggage in the backseats, though mentally scolded himself as he felt some pain while doing so. _Why didn't I just put this in the shotgun?_ Luckily, he didn't have _too_ much trouble reaching his belongings since his arms were long enough, then slipped out of the car and raised a hand into the air to greet Mathias. "Hey."

Looking back into the car, Valdimar waited until his puffin flew out and sat on his shoulder before shutting the door. His gaze returned to the Dane, scanning him and his vehicle. "...From the looks of it you seem to be ready...and zoning out."

...

Elizaveta scowled out a stern "fine", but not without sounding as if she was in pain. No, she _was_ in pain - and was actually thankful when Vash had carried her over to his car, as she had lost her strength to stand. While getting transferred over to the machine, her eyes seemed to glaze over, almost falling unconscious; luckily, her Hun side hit her and re-energized her, causing her eyes to momentarily widen and regain her conscious.

By that time, Elizaveta was already in the passenger seat and saw a bucket peek into her sight. Slowly, the Hungarian took it and croaked out almost silently, "Thank you." Her stomach seemed to be yanked on once again, in which Elizaveta then stretched open her mouth in agony - however, no blood escaped from her body. She wasn't too sure if Emil was doing something again or if it was the speed at which the Swiss was driving, but it didn't matter to her - all she wanted was to tear apart the Slovak. _It has to be him._

And soon enough, the three nations arrived in the Slovak's territory - the Slovak himself was leaning against a tree nearby his border as they approached, expecting their arrival, and flashed a small smirk when his dark, narrow purple eyes spotted the Hungarian in the car. He pushed himself off of the tree trunk with his back, uncrossing his arms as he revealed himself beneath the moonlight, presenting himself before the nations. A hand brushed his stray brown hairstrands away from his face as he murmured to himself, "So the player has made a move." He then displayed a small smile, almost wearing a smirk, as if to welcome the newcomers.

* * *

Mathias had once again been so lost in his thoughts and wondering what the nagging feeling was that he jumped when he heard the Icelander. He slid off the roof of his car, displaying a small smile. "Yeah, I'm ready. And sorry-was just thinking about some things." He softly laughed, though as he turned to open the trunk for the Icelandic nation to put his belongings in, the Dane couldn't help but feel the strange feeling again, which almost seemed enhanced with the eerie glow of the now risen moon on the surrounding environment. _I'm probably just being paranoid._ He took Valdimar's luggage and put it into the trunk, making sure nothing was being crushed and slammed down the cover. He jumped into the car, belting up as he waited for the Icelander, still distracted. _I don't like this feeling at all._

Once Valdimar was in and the doors closed, Mathias bid his home farewell and drove out and hit the road. The GPS, as usual, chimed up to ask for the destination. "Brussels. Fastest route." The system quickly calculated and drew out the directions. Mathias sighed and relaxed a bit in his seat, though his hands flexed on the steering wheel. As he was with Valdimar, he went a bit faster than he would with Elizaveta, cruising along smoothly in the dark of the night.

...

Vash kept all of his focus on the road, exhilarated by the speed he was going. As he saw Emil's territory come into view, he finally slowed down, and ended up jamming his foot down on the break. The vehicle screeched to a halt. Lili clenched onto the seats in front of her as she was slightly thrown forward, though her seatbelt kept her in place. Vash relaxed in his seat, letting out a sigh. He turned to Elizaveta, a slight frown on his face.

"Elizaveta, we're here. And looks like you have someone waiting for you. You know I'm not allowed to intervene in such things, so I'll have to leave you." The Swiss was a neutral nation, after all, and concerning himself in other affairs would taint his status. The Liechtensteinerin slowly nodded, knowing very well that she was in the same position. _Lizzy probably wants to deal with this herself, anyway...she'll just get angry if anyone wanted to help her out. Unless it was war._ She shivered at such a thought. _No. No more wars._

* * *

"No problem. If I were you, I'd probably do the same thing." Valdimar then nodded a thanks to the Dane before walking around the car to hop into the passenger seat. He watched Mathias make his way into the vehicle as he slid on his seatbelt; once the car roared to life, his eyes moved over to the clock and began to plan out the rest of the day and the next in his head. _Sleep, wake up, prepare for the meeting, eat breakfast...oh, and eating dinner too._ Valdimar swiftly calculated the time they had for each part of the schedule, deducting time from their sleep to fulfill their plans. He decided to murmur aloud to Mathias, "...At this rate, we won't be getting too much sleep." Unfortunately, they wouldn't be able to slack off and take a nap during the meeting - some nation would always shout at them or nudge them to wake up (he clearly remembered when Ludwig would snap at Feliciano to stop snoozing). Eating, too, was considered rather rude...

The Icelandic nation then perked up as a good question came to mind. "Are we going to eat at a restaurant when we get to Brussels or what? I don't have any preference for anything at the moment."

...

Elizaveta felt her body jerk forcibly forward as the car struggled to halt, nearly wanting to puke out her lungs from that. Fortunately for her, she didn't, and glared outside the window at the figure with a gray-brown uniform before the Hungarian set aside the bucket, uttering another "thank you". She then clicked open the door, carefully and slowly setting one foot on the cold ground, and then patiently removed the other. Leaning against the back door of the car on her side, Elizaveta shut the front one, her eyes never leaving the Slovak the entire time, and shuffled over towards him. After what seemed like an hour, the man spoke when the Hun was a fair distance away from him.

"Hello, Elizaveta," he greeted, still smiling as he gave off a strange air. "You look very ill."

"Stop playing that game with me, Emil," Elizaveta answered immediately, scowling at him while choking out her words. It took her a few seconds to continue speaking. "You know that I know you well. What have you done this time?"

Soon, Emil's smile transformed into a smirk, raising his hands guiltily. "Whoops, I let you check me. Well, not really - it wasn't me." His hands then lowered, the bold crease on his lips strengthening his smirk. "A Slovak happened to get very drunk just a while ago. He mentioned how much he loathed the Hungarians living south in our land to his friends and began to give explanations to why he felt that way. It sounded as if he was joking at first, seeing as his explanations weren't all that reasonable, but then when he left the bar, he happened to pick up Hungarian from a group of Hungarians nearby." Then he scoffed almost happily or in laughter when his thoughts came upon his next words. "He killed them." His eyes had wandered off while telling his story, but then returned to Elizaveta, still carrying that dark glint in his eyes. The way Emil looked at her only fueled her anger - he wasn't stunned by this at all.

"And obviously, you're not doing anything about this and just let your government take care of it, since you secretly approve of this?" Elizaveta's voice crescendoed while sneering at him, fighting back her urge to engage in a brawl with the Slovak. Emil obviously noticed her hatred seeping through her, but only murmured, "Looks like you've read my next move."

* * *

The Dane-who would usually be blasting music in his car-drove silently, focused on the road, only the hum of the car zipping down the road filling the air. He perked up when the Icelander spoke and glanced over to him. "Huh? Oh, yeah...well, we're running on a pretty tight schedule, so I guess we could just pick up some fast food and head straight to the hotel and eat there. But, whatever you want to do is good with me. Your call." He tapped a finger on the steering wheel, thinking. He had tried to keep away that strange feeling in the back of his mind, which actually seemed like it was working, but he suddenly felt it again. He mentally cursed, wondering what it was. _Paranoid. I'm just paranoid._ With all that was going on in Europe, it was hard not to be, surely. But still . . .

He sighed, and glanced at Valdimar again. "Hey Valdi...have you ever, or do you at the moment, got a nagging or strange feeling? Just, something in the back of your mind, but weren't able to put a finger on it?" He wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer, but Mathias decided it was better to reassure himself, or at least attempt to do so.

...

The siblings watched carefully as the Hungarian made her way out of the car and towards the other nation. Vash started up the car again, knowing it best to leave as soon as possible. The Liechtensteinerin bit her lip, wanting to stay to make sure that her friend would be okay, but as good of a friend as Elizaveta was, she could not side with her on an issue such as this one. It was personal, and both she and her brother had to keep on good relations with both Elizaveta and Emil. Vash quietly backed away, though kept his eyes on the two to make sure nothing suddenly broke out.

He then turned around and drove off back towards his home. Lili slouched in her seat, wondering what to do. _Lizzy and Emil...they both have to go to the EU meeting tomorrow. If anything starts now...oh, that meeting will be chaotic for sure._ She shook her head, frowning in worry. The Swiss glanced in the rear-view mirror to get a look at his younger sister and let out a sigh. "See, things like this are why I am neutral..." He muttered. Lili nodded slowly in understanding, pulling out her phone quietly and gently. She stared at it, her thumb stroking the screen. _Should I...should I tell anyone about it? Feliks?...Or Mathias?_ She frowned again. _What to do. . ._

* * *

"That's fine with me. We'll go to a fast food restaurant, then," Valdimar agreed. "Just make sure that they have fish, I'm sure my puffin's hungry for that." Calmly, he eyed his puffin, which seemed to make a small noise of delight and happiness, indicating that the Icelander had been right about its needs. As silence came upon the two nations, Valdimar couldn't help but to feel just...slightly awkward, his eyes once in a while veering away from the car's window to glance at the radio system as if he was hoping that it would turn on eventually. However, he needn't to worry anymore when the Dane finally decided to speak up, and listened to his words. Valdimar stared at Mathias with some surprise at first, though turned away to stare out into the night to think.

"...I've experienced a few of those," he admitted after a pause, again turning his head to look at the Viking. "Why do you ask?"

...

Elizaveta narrowed her eyes, both in response to Emil's words and to the other two nations driving away. She didn't care if they stayed or not - as long as they were safe, then she was fine with whatever they did. However, she did bear her teeth as a reaction to Emil alone, though didn't get a chance to speak as the Slovak questioned her, his eyebrow rising in amusement, "Oh, so your two pawns decided to back out? What a shame. You did know that pawns aren't exactly useless, right...?"

In what seemed like a second, the Hungarian zipped over to Emil with her knife unsheathed, threatening his life at his neck. The male nation didn't flinch, but looked out of the corner of his eyes to glance at Elizaveta. Though one hand had a weapon at his neck, the Hun's other hand was gripping at her stomach, telling the Slovak that she was still suffering from the incident. He chuckled, then the female nation uttered, "I wasn't planning to go this far until you decided to not take this seriously."

"Ooh, feisty." Emil snickered, putting on yet another smirk. Obviously, he wasn't surprised by this action either, nor was he scared of it. "You know, you should be grateful because I'm playing it easy on you right now...if I weren't, I would have already fatally wounded you by now."

"I bet that you can't even come close to fatal."

Also in nearly a second, Emil attempted to knock the knife out of Elizaveta's hand with a thrust of his arm; luckily, she barely managed to keep her grip and tightened her hold on it, then countered with a swift, upward swing of her own arm to slash at the Slovak, no longer willing to stop herself from injuring the man. However, Emil ended up dominating her as he ducked and avoided the attack, moving forward while doing so and kicking her to the ground, keeping his foot on the Hungarian's back. "Would you like to say that straight to my face again? _You_ can't even match me in _that_ weak state." He showed off his own teeth as his smirk widened. "I guess killing off Hungarians does some good for me after all."

* * *

The Dane sighed. _Okay, so it's not like something is wrong with me...hopefully._ He stiffened at the Icelander's question and shook his head. "Because...I've been feeling it. It started a bit before you reached my house, and it's driving me _insane_. Just because I can't figure out what it is or what it means." Mathias frowned slightly, feeling utterly helpless as the nagging continued, to the point where he almost felt something physically pull at his insides. _Ugh._

He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel again as he thought, and thought, and thought. _It can't be that something is wrong back home...no, I would have gotten a call or a message or something._ Then what was it? A sign of something to come? _I hope not._ Just some physical illness? _No, nations don't get that._ A mental illness? _Better not be._ As the various possibilities ran through his head, Mathias shook off every one of them. None of the explanations felt right.

A vibration and chime suddenly snapped the Viking out of his thoughts. He felt his stomach drop. _Please..._ He glanced at Valdimar, a nervous smile on his face. He carefully picked up his phone and blinked at the screen. _A message...from Lili?_ Glancing at the road every few seconds, he opened the message to read it.  
_Mathias. Just wanted to let you know...Elizaveta and Emil seem to be having an...issue. Be wary at the meeting tomorrow.  
~Lili~_

The Viking's expression turned grim. _An issue...?_ He suddenly felt like he had been hit with a bag of bricks. _That's it._ Whatever it was that was nagging him, it surely had to do with whatever was happening between Elizaveta and Emil. _But, what could it be that it's bothering me like this. . .and how is it that_ I'm _being bothered by it?..._

...

The young female nation brought the phone done from her face with a sigh and leaned against the back of her seat. _I don't know if that does anything...but at least it's_ something. She had just sent Mathias a text message, and hoped that he would understand, and, above all, that it might make the EU meeting the following morning go a bit smoother. _Though him knowing anything...does it really solve it?_ "Probably not," she murmured quietly to herself. Though she usually didn't mind being neutral, it was moments like these that she hated it-even if it just meant being there. She suddenly perked up.

"_Bruder_, couldn't we have at least stayed as mediators? To make sure that nothing bad happens? I mean..." Lili trailed off. She hadn't really paid attention to the outside, and as she looked out the window, her eyes widened. _Wait..._ Her eyes darted back to her brother, a smile appearing on her face. Vash shook his head, sighing.

"Did you really think I was just going to leave them like that? Of course not. What if they got into a fight?" The Swiss frowned. He had driven away from sight of the other two nations, only to drive around and bring the car to a different area, hidden by trees, where he could still see both Elizaveta and Emil. Knowing the hostility that existed between them, Vash wouldn't be surprised if they got into a brawl, and his suspicions were confirmed when he saw the two lunge for each other, and then Elizaveta on the ground. Lili looked on worryingly, biting her bottom lip. _Please, don't fight._ Both siblings instinctively went for their guns-Vash's concealed in his uniform, Lili's hidden under her dress. The Liechtensteinerin only carried a small pistol with her when out of her uniform, as it was small enough to be tucked into a strap on her thigh. _Don't fight. _

* * *

Valdimar raised an eyebrow at the Dane, not too amused - he sounded like he was whining again. Usually, whenever he got strange feelings like that, he would get distracted and eventually that feeling would fade away. It seemed too obvious that Mathias would become so agitated by something like that; the Icelander simply shook his head and ended up watching his restless fingers dance around on the steering wheel, tightening his face to show a distressed expression. However, his face relaxed when he heard a chime and felt his puffin twitch on his shoulder. Valdimar, too, sensed Mathias' eyes on him and looked up to make short eye contact before staring out onto the road to make sure they didn't crash into anything while the Dane was checking his phone. _Who knows if he will. It's_ Mathias.

He then frowned with worry as Mathias' expression switched into a grave one. Valdimar sat up with interest, debating for a few seconds whether or not he should ask. Deciding that it wouldn't hurt to ask, he questioned, "...Is there something wrong?" The Icelandic nation prayed that it wasn't something too bad like before, to the point where he had to return to the Danish parliament. _But if there's an EU meeting, then he wouldn't be able to go back..._

...

Elizaveta's mouth gaped open from Emil's kick as she landed onto the ground, her fingers clawing at the dirt as she silently suffered through her internal pain. She was too numb with the pain to move, but then Emil's words - _killing off Hungarians_ - automatically sparked her next action. In a swift motion, the Hun rolled around in such a way that her legs were able to toss the Slovak off of his feet and onto the ground. However, Emil was deft enough to roll and use acrobatics to flip back onto his feet, facing Elizaveta with a smirk on his face. The Hungarian glared back at her rival on her elbows, her teeth and jaws locked together. Remembering his other words, she muttered cruelly and daringly, "_You can't do_ shit _to me._"

Emil's eyes automatically narrowed in disgust and hatred. His arm bent in towards his body to reach into his jacket, then drew away to reveal his hand that now possessed a gun. Without hesitation, he shot the Hungarian in the arm, shattering the silent night with an ear-deafening bang, in which Elizaveta simultaneously screamed, her voice rough and hoarse. As if the shot was a switch, her hand immediately opened up to release her weapon. She remained on the floor, frozen in pain as blood leaked out of her pale skin under the moonlight.

"And you think a knife can do any better?" he scowled, walking around the Hungarian with his still outstretched arm, never leaving his narrowed eyes off of her. Once on the other side of her, Emil stopped in his track. "You should think that over, because guess what you're in for now?" Another _bang_; another, agonizing scream. The Slovak waited until she was silent before he kicked her face to force her to look at him. Her face was tightened, wincing - Emil hovered his head closely over hers to intimidate her as he muttered dangerously, "_Checkmate._"

* * *

_**A/N:**_

_Heh, super dramatic chapter. Probably the most intense one yet. _ _

_And yes, Slovakia has finally appeared! He is an OC, of course - As you can see, he makes many chess references - xNeyu read that Slovakians are very good at chess, so she decided to characterize him in such a way that he would always incorporate chess. xDD Hope the Slovaks out there aren't mad with his personality or anything. ;~; _

_**xNeyu: **Also, I have a feeling that some Slovaks here will get mad if I make Slovakia looked down upon and bad and never having a good side and stuff, but I'll do my best to see if I can give him some sort of positive aspect. ;u;'''_  
_**Amerzt:** Yeah, remember that this right now is showing more of Hungary's side than anything...as the story continues, it'll show that he isn't really a bad guy and has reasons for doing what he does. _

_**xNeyu:** Hungary's injuries from the death of the group of Hungarians can be debatable since this is where the creative part of Hetalia comes in. Hungary does represent her country and people after all, and I would imagine that if her people are murdered, then she dies too in a sense - so, essentially, the murder of the group of Hungarians would affect her in some way. Or that's what I believe. _ _

_The story about the drunk Slovak isn't real, by the way. **xNeyu** made it up. However, there have been many incidents were Hungarians in Slovakia have been treated badly and vice-versa-Slovaks in Hungary. The two share a long and complicated history, which will be revealed in later chapters so you can understand why the tension/hatred exists between the two characters. _

_**xNeyu**: Oh, and since there have been efforts to alleviate the tense relations between Hungary and Slovakia by their governments (in real life), I made Hungary mention how Slovakia would just sit around and do nothing and let his Parliament and such handle the situations like these alone, as he has "secret approval" for the Hungarians' deaths. Unless his boss comes in, hahaha. So while his government still takes action for such events, Slovakia still continues to hate Hungary. _

_**Amerzt:** Yes...the governments are trying to make things better, but Hungary/Elizaveta and Slovakia/Emil, as they represent the country and have lived through a lot, still hold their grudges.  
The only other OC that will make an appearance is the Czech Republic, who'll also take a significant role in the plot line. (Hint: She's Slovakia's girlfriend.)_

_To see what Slovakia/Emil looks like, go here (without the spaces, of course): xneyu. deviantart. com / # / d2s7808_


	28. Chapter 27

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 27**

* * *

Mathias put the phone down, focusing again on the road, his hands gripping tightly onto the steering wheel. "It was a message from Lili-Liechtenstein. Apparently Elizaveta and Emil are having an issue." It wasn't surprising that the two would, he knew that, but it worried him that the young female nation had taken time to tell him, and that too along with the nagging feeling was weighing him down. He felt puzzled, and decided to ask the Icelander the question that had been haunting his mind.

"Valdi...when two of our kind...get in a kind of relationship...can we somehow feel what they're going through?" Mathias knew it was likely that the younger Nordic nation wouldn't know. "I mean, when we used to be together, in a union, we could, I remember. With each other, sometimes. But. . ." He trailed off. Did it apply to something like what he and the Hungarian shared?

Suddenly, the nagging feeling disappeared. _That's weird, does tha-_ His thoughts were interrupted when instead he felt a strange sensation run through his arm, and his shoulder began to ache slightly. And then his heart. . ._Something is wrong. Very wrong._ He winced slightly. _What the hell is going on with me._ He struggled to keep his hands on the steering wheel, gripping so tightly that his knuckles turned white, and felt relieved when he saw a sign stating that Brussels was up ahead. _But. . ._

...

Lili thought her heart had stopped.

_No._

It took her a second to realize that Vash had already kicked the car door open, drawing out his gun. She quickly followed, slipping out her small pistol, her heart still feeling frozen. The sounds of fired bullets and screams seemed to echo in her head. Everything seemed to move in slow motion, until she finally got knocked to her senses. She followed after her brother, who practically sprinted to the other two nations.

"_STOP._" Vash yelled out, his voice commanding and official. He soon had his precious gold gun pointed at Emil, his eyes narrowed. He only glanced at the bleeding Hungarian, keeping his eyes focused instead on the male nation. The Swiss continued, his voice still containing a commanding edge. "Emil, you know very well that this is unacceptable. Especially the night before an EU meeting. Despite your differences, you should not act in such a way. Yes, Elizaveta is at fault as well-both of you should know better than to get involved in something like this."

As he spoke, the Liechtensteinerin had knelt down behind the Hun, her eyes full of worry, but kept her calm and nimbly checked her wounds. Feeling for the bullets, it seemed that one was still in the Hungarian, the other having completely passed through, covered in blood. _This is really bad, but thankfully not fatal,_ she confirmed in her thoughts. She ripped off a piece of her dress, wrapping the cloth around one wound, tying it tightly to stop the blood flow, and tore off another piece, doing the same to her second wound. "You'll be okay, Lizzy." She said quietly. Her eyes then went up to Emil, who she noticed was for the most part unharmed, and let out a sigh. _Why can't everyone just get along. . ._ She had to suppress her own personal, bitter feelings towards the male nation, whom she herself had had issues with.

Vash continued to point the gun at the Slovak, not moving a bit. "I am breaking this up right now before things get any more disastrous. You two shall settle out your differences verbally at the meeting tomorrow-and do not think I will hesitate to tell the Council of this matter." He was speaking to both Emil and Elizaveta, his eyes glancing to her again. "Now, I believe the meeting is tomorrow morning, and you two both need to be in Brussels. I would suggest you get prepared and leave right away." No emotion. Vash couldn't show any other than rage at this moment, but had to keep himself from doing so to prevent matters from getting worse or out of hand.

* * *

It took a while for Valdimar to recognize what country Lili represented, though uncertainty and confusion came upon him once the name Emil was mentioned; he wasn't too familiar with the name, but while thinking about certain times when the Hungarian happened to be fighting with him (and thus occasionally appeared on some sort of news), Valdimar realized that it was the Slovakian. "...Oh, him..." However, his thoughts snapped off when the Dane continued ranting on about the strange feeling that bothered him, and widened his eyes at how...unique his question was. The Icelandic nation, though, knew exactly what he meant and recalled those times very well. That sort of instinct never fooled him, either.

"Yes, I follow you...'but' what?" Valdimar wondered, concerned that Mathias had left his words unfinished. He quickly examined the Dane, then locked his eyes on his hand. It seemed to be...uncontrolled and acted strangely, causing the steering wheel to just _slightly_ shift from side to side. _Is he saying that he's going through something now?_

...

Emil tilted his head slightly but sharply to glance at the newcomers, tensing up his muscles from the command. Once he identified the Swiss, he straightened up body to properly greet him, even if Vash pointed a gun at him, and lowered his arm to stop threatening the Hungarian with his own weapon. "Oh, hello, Vash. I'm not surprised to hear you trying to be the arbiter." Despite his hostility towards the Hungarian, the Slovak actually had rather good relations with the Swiss. He didn't want to ruin it now. "...But I'm sorry, this is only a two player game. You should leave before this becomes an unfair match." Though his words seemed to be playful, Emil was serious about it. His eyes then came upon the younger sister; a sinister grin appeared on his face as his memories that linked to the Liechtensteinerin ran through his thoughts, though did not bother to deal with her at the moment. "And I know well the business that I have in Brussels tomorrow. I don't need someone to remind me about that."

While Emil was distracted with Vash, Elizaveta had painfully shifted her head to gaze at Lili, who was aiding her with her injuries. Her vision was blurring, though not completely; she could feel the blood rush from her body to the two wounds she wore on her body, which was still aroused by her Hunnic personality and her hatred for the Slovak. The other female nation's words - as well as the other nations' - seemed to be blocked out by her pulsing ears - the pushes of her blood through her veins were probably the only things she could hear loud and clear at the moment. Even so, the Hungarian mouthed the words 'thank you' to Lili, too enervated to actually speak. Elizaveta was quite tempted to surprise the Slovak with some sort of surprise attack - oh, she was sure that if she had just a slight surge of energy, she would be able to do it - but before she could even make her move, the bushes nearby the trees were startled, their leaves rustling against each other as voices not too distant urgently chattered in Hungarian.

Emil, too, detected this; his eyes immediately darted over to the dark shadows in the trees in alarm, then he scoffed loudly. "Dammit." The Slovak then glared down at the Hun, a sense of superiority flooding into him as he did so. "This game will have to resume another day." Not necessarily done to carry out the Swiss' order, Emil swiftly fled, dashing off deeper into his territory to escape from the possible crowd from gathering around the scene.

Numerous Hungarian policemen popped out behind the three nations, their conversation at a much louder volume than before. They quickly knelt down beside Elizaveta and Lili to also care for the bleeding nation, though several others twisted around to look back. Eventually, Roderich appeared before them, with two more policemen walking alongside him. The Austrian rushed up to the Hungarian nation, quickly scanning her before knitting his eyebrows, emotionally stabbed by the sight. His head turned up to look up at Vash. "I came looking for Elizaveta from hearing about the Slovakian drunkard and the Hungarians...but I didn't expect this," he murmured. "What happened?"

* * *

Mathias did not take his eyes off of the road ahead, though his mind was elsewhere. His hands flexed on the steering wheel, and he finally responded to Valdimar.

"But. . .does it happen if you informally make a relation? Like Elizaveta and I. . ." The sensation in his arm was not disappearing, and the ache in his shoulder only became more apparent. "Because...because I'm feeling something right now. And I don't understand it. And to be honest it's kind of creeping me out." The Dane shook his head, worry more than anything starting to fill him. The lights of the city came into view, and soon he was driving into the outskirts of Brussels. "I just can't get rid of it, no matter how hard I think of other things and try to ignore it." _And if it's something to do with Eli and Emil. . ._

Remembering that the two needed some food, he pulled up to the drive-thru of a McDonald's, turning to Valdimar, waiting for him to order what he wanted as he continued to think, his other arm coming up to massage and press his aching shoulder and arm. _This is too weird. . ._

...

The Swiss glared at the Slovak, though kept his voice cool, yet with an edge. "Emil, do not try and make this situation worse. I may not be part of your personal relation with Elizaveta, but that does not mean I do not have say in what occurs between you two when it comes to things like this." Before he could continue to lecture, Vash heard footsteps and the rustling of leaves as well as voices, and he swung around his arm to point to the source, his eyes scanning from left to right. He swung his arm around again at Emil's words, and watched him run off. _Great._ Another swing of his arm, waiting to see what the cause of the sounds were. Vash relaxed as he saw the policemen, his arm slowly coming down to his side, watching them rushing to kneel next to the bleeding Hungarian.

Lili had also perked up and looked behind her in worry, her pistol aimed, but was relieved to see who the newcomers were, turning back to Elizaveta. She heard a policeman shout something in Hungarian back to where they had emerged from, receiving a response from someone else, and then almost felt her chest burst with joy when Roderich came dashing to Elizaveta's side and his words. _Thank goodness._ She then moved as two medics appeared with a stretcher. They gently picked up the Hungarian and laid her down on it.

Vash watched the scene, then looked to the Austrian, shaking his head. "Elizaveta was in a rage to confront Emil. She had started coughing up blood and could barely stand. The two got into a fight and well..." The Swiss gestured to the Hun. "He got pissed enough that he ended up shooting her." He frowned. He hated it when things like this happened, because of the ensuing drama that would occur.

Lili joined the conversation, looking over to her hurt friend. "She has one bullet in her, though it's thankfully not too deep. The other went right through, though thankfully towards the edge, far from the bone." The Liechtensteinerin watched as the medics did their own checks on her, and one turned to the group of nations, speaking in English.

"She needs to be treated right away. However, our medical facilities cannot accommodate her, as you very well know. She will have to be taken into special care." The medics were already placing her into an unmarked ambulance that had just arrived. Vash immediately perked up, nodding to the man.

"Of course. Get her to the CLINIC in Budapest immediately. We will arrive shortly." The medic nodded in response, and quickly the doors of the ambulance were closed and it sped off towards the Hungarian capital. CLINIC-the Cooperative League for Injured Nation Intensive Care-was specially made for the nations, as their bodies were more sensitive and valuable than any humans', and also had high levels of security. The Swiss then began to walk to his car, beckoning Lili and Roderich.

The young female nation followed after her older brother, though pulled out her cell phone. _I should tell him. . ._ Determined, Lili typed out another message, this time addressing Elizaveta's injuries, and tucked the phone away again after sending it. _Whatever happens, please, let the conference not cause any more problems. . ._

* * *

_Feeling something right now...?_ Valdimar purposely remained silent for several minutes to think, wondering what could possibly be happening to him. The text message from Lili seemed to make Mathias feel something strange, or at least support the assumption that it could have been because of Elizaveta. _Maybe he does have some sort of connection to her...after all, the five of us did have something like that before. It would make sense that Mathias could have senses tied to Eli..._ He had to pause in the middle of his thoughts to order a burger combo, along with a side of fish for his pet, then resumed thinking. _But he's been like this before Lili sent that text message...or maybe she just didn't decide to do so until a while later._ There were so many possibilities that it somewhat distressed the Icelander, in which he shook his head lightly to try to ease a growing headache.

"If anything, it probably does have something to do with Elizaveta," Valdimar confirmed, nodding once. He watched with slight worry when the Dane squeezed his arm. "...And if it's going to be your arm in particular..." He then flinched from yet another chime. A small frown appeared onto his face, wondering if it could be the Liechtensteinerin again. _Another message so soon...it most likely is her._

...

Elizaveta, upon hearing Roderich's soft voice, widened her eyes and seemed to return to her normal self. She strained to twist her neck around to gaze at the Austrian as he replied to the Swiss, "Emil...he shouldn't have gone that far...and neither should have Elizaveta." However, before she could see Roderich, the Hungarian was carried away and heaved into an ambulance car, only hearing her ex-husband's words fading away. She relieved the stress placed on her neck by turning it again, now watching her medics perform various tests on her and examine her wounds as they murmured to each other in rapid Hungarian. "She's still awake," one said; another, "the blood needs to be cleaned off", and then everything just seemed to blur afterwards as Elizaveta became lost in her own thoughts, her eyes closing. _He's not going to get away with this..._

"Though, Emil has committed far worse actions than she did," Roderich continued once Vash and Lili gave the policemen and medics their orders, and stared off after the ambulance that drove away to Budapest. He shook his head slowly. "That is unacceptable of him to fire that gun twice, let alone unnecessarily wield it. Such weapons are only with us for defensive purposes, not to cause a war." He then glared at the ground, which was masked with the Hun's blood. _Elizaveta...stop getting yourself into a fight with Emil._ He had seen them argue more than once in various situations - all of which had a potential to initiate a war - but nothing this bad has happened like this for some while. He considered them lucky to not have engaged in a true battle between two nations by now.

Noticing Vash retreating to his car and beckoning him, Roderich followed his footsteps, murmuring to the Swiss, "With those injuries, Elizaveta is in no condition to head to Brussels for the EU meeting. Since she's a strong nation, she may be released tomorrow...though I highly doubt that would happen." With two fingers, the aristocrat adjusted his glasses, then climbed into the vehicle and closed the door, waiting to be taken to the CLINIC. _Antonio should be informed about Elizaveta's absence...though I may be arriving late as well._ On the meanwhile, Roderich decided to quickly send a text message informing about his and the Hungarian's missing attendance, though did not touch upon the topic of the incident that occurred just now, finding it better to discuss it during the conference than through the phone.

* * *

Mathias also ordered a burger combo, though of a different variety, and nodded at the Icelander's words as he pulled up to the window to pay. As the employee took his credit card, the Dane nearly jumped again as he heard his phone chime. He picked it up again, eyes narrowing as he saw the name on the screen. _Lili again...don't tell me..._ He finally managed to move his thumb to hit the 'open' button, and felt his heart freeze as he read the message.

_Mathias.  
Lizzy and Emil got into a fight. She has to be taken to the CLINIC in Budapest-she probably won't make it to Brussels tomorrow. It's pretty bad. Roderich is probably going to stick around, too.  
~Lili~_

Mathias stared at the phone screen, taking a while to realize that the drive-thru employee was trying to hand him his card back, as well as the food. Out of habit, he took the items, though he was too lost in his thoughts to really realize what was going on. _Fight? CLINIC?...That's only for serious injuries._ He finally shook his head to get back to reality, and handed his phone over to the Icelander for him to read the message himself as he drove off, heading to their hotel. _This ache in my arm. . ._ He knitted his eyebrows. _If it's that bad. . .no way will I be able to focus at the meeting tomorrow. No, not until I see her._

The Dane soon pulled into the driveway of the hotel. The guards and bellboys immediately came to unload the car and relieve it from Mathias's hands as they opened the doors for the nations. He got out, thinking, then turned to one of the valet parking employees. "Keep the car here. I'll be coming back to it shortly." The man nodded in response. _I have to go see her._

...

Vash climbed into his car, starting the engine immediately, Lili soon settling in the back. The Swiss nodded, his expression grim. "They are both at fault, no doubt, but Emil did make a dangerous move. I was surprised-I wouldn't think he would act in such a way." He frowned. _I've always seen his better side._ "But I guess he just snapped-I can't imagine why else he would have done it." He sighed, and accelerated the car, sharply making a U-turn to get onto the road as he sped towards Budapest.

Lili clutched onto her dress tightly. _This won't be something the others will just forget either. . .as long as a war doesn't start, it's okay. . ._ She shook her head, not wanting to think of what the recent event could evolve into. She got lost in other thoughts for a while before squeaking when she felt a vibration and a chime ring. _Oh...my phone._ She took it out slightly, reading the message that appeared on the screen.  
_I'm coming. -Mathias._

The Liechtensteinerin blinked, then sighed. _Of course._ But she could not hide a small smile at the thought that the Dane cared enough to come personally see her, especially with the EU conference to start in the morning. Vash raised an eyebrow at his sibling, looking at her from the rear-view mirror. He then focused back on the road, the needle on the speedometer looking to give someone a heart attack.

The Swiss slowed down once he got into Budapest, and after turning several corners, he reached the tucked away CLINIC center, security guards patrolling the area. He noticed that the ambulance had already reached, and looked to his sister and the Austrian. Lili was the first to jump out of the car, running up to the entrance. She paused to nod at the guards, who let her through. _Please be okay, please be okay. . . _

* * *

The Icelander kept his focus on the Dane the entire time, refusing to let Mathias leave his field of vision. As he clicked his cell phone and read the message, Valdimar tried to take a peek at the text from where he sat; finding no success, he decided to examine Mathias for any facial expressions. Immediately, it struck him that the Dane was stunned by something. A frown swept across his face as the employee proved his thoughts to be true - Mathias wasn't moving at all, nearly convincing him that he died of a heart attack right on the spot. Valdimar was just about to try to rattle him awake until the Viking thankfully snapped out of his daze by himself and gave the younger Nordic the device. _...This is bad. Normally he would just say what the message said, but if he hands over his phone..._ His violet eyes searched for the beginning of the small block of words, then skimmed straight through it urgently and widened his eyes. "...CLINIC?" he thought aloud unintentionally. "Then..."

He trailed off as he saw that the two of them had arrived at the hotel. Quickly, Valdimar climbed out of the car, having forgotten about the food as well as his appetite, and helped the employees with removing their luggage, notifying them about how the other Nordics already had a room arranged for them. He then overheard Mathias' words and frowned again, stressing his eyebrows to show irritation. _He's coming back? That means..._ "Wait, Mathias - are you saying you plan to go to the CLINIC in Budapest?"

...

Roderich nodded in agreement to Vash's words, crossing his arms as the car sped off. "He and Elizaveta don't get along very well. The things that have happened between the two in the past formed their intense hatred for each other. Neither of them can seem to overcome their emotions and find a resolution to their enmity..." He noticed something brighten at the corner of his eyes, assuming that Lili was up to something, though disregarded her as he was too preoccupied with Elizaveta's welfare and the Slovak, glaring through the windshield.

The Austrian unbuckled his seatbelt before the car came to a stop, then calmly exited the vehicle soon after the female nation did, following the girl. Eventually, he spotted the room in which Elizaveta was in by noticing a nurse entering one of the many in the hallway, and swiftly swerved in. Roderich stood at the doorway for a moment to scan his surroundings - there were nurses and doctors aplenty, with two doctors by the Hungarian's side. The nurses either waiting or fulfilling a request from those who tended to the wounded nation. He exhaled in relief to see that Elizaveta was still alive and, even better, awake.

The Hungarian's lips curled up into a small but weak smile. "Hello Lili, Roderich." Her voice was relatively normal, high pitched, and soft, though was still somewhat affected by her lack of strength. "You guys arrived fast."

"Don't waste too much of your breath, Elizaveta." Roderich walked deeper into the room, now standing beside one of the doctors as he examined one of the gunshots she received. His expression turned into one of disgust not from the appearance of the injury, but from his dislike for Emil's crime. The Austrian then relaxed his face as he murmured, "How are you feeling? Are you still coughing up blood?"

"I'm fine," his former wife reassured him. "And no, that stopped some while ago." Elizaveta was grateful that Roderich decided to watch over her and not depart for the EU meeting right away, as he should have. He could even be accidentally considered her spouse for his support. She didn't mind - or at least, she used to not mind. Now that she had a bond with Mathias, everything seemed different. _...I wonder how he's doing now...at this rate, I won't arrive to the meeting on time either._ Elizaveta took a deep breath, though not without feeling some pain, and closed her eyes. _We won't be able to see each other for another day or so, then. Please don't worry about me..._

* * *

After making sure that the car would be waiting for him, he walked into the lobby of the hotel, the bellboys having already picked up their luggage and waiting at the front desk. Of course, it was a high-class hotel-nothing less for the respected nations, and the staff knew them quite well. Without having to say a word, the clerk at the front desk handed the Dane a packet containing two keys.

"Mister Sweden told us ahead of time. Here are your keys to your room. We hope you enjoy your stay, and feel free to contact any of the employees if you require assistance." She smiled, and Mathias nodded to her, saying a quick 'Thank You' then turning to the Icelander to finally answer his question.

"Yes, I am. There is no way I'll be able to sleep tonight or concentrate at the conference if I don't see that she's okay." He led the Icelander to the elevator as he spoke, thankful that one seemed to be waiting for them, and pressed the button of their floor. "If they've taken her to one of the CLINIC centers. . .well..." He trailed off, narrowing his eyes. He was snapped out of his thoughts by an electronic voice: "You have reached Floor Nine".

Mathias left the elevator to see that the bellboys had already reached their room. He swiped a card key in the lock, opening the door, and allowed the employees to put the luggage inside. He gave them a tip, and once they left and the door was closed, he turned to his friend again. "I'm going to go now. I'll send you a message after I get there." Without waiting for a reply, he dashed back to the lobby and to his car. The guard outside gave him his keys, and in a matter of minutes the Dane was zipping down the road towards Budapest. _Please be okay._

...

Lili sighed with relief as her eyes came upon the Hungarian, and she slowly approached her side, standing next to the other doctor, who examined her other wound, a nurse waiting patiently with a tray of tools behind him. She listened to the conversation between the former couple, her eyes scanning the Hun's wounds. _Should I tell her Mathias is on his way?. . . No, best to leave it as a surprise._

Her attention turned back to doctor as he murmured a command to the nurse. This was the wound that still contained the bullet. The doctor glanced at the Liechtensteinerin, and she understood, backing away slightly. The nurse now came to where Lili had been standing, and handed a needle to the doctor. He focused on the wound, but assuring murmured to the hurt nation. "This may sting." He applied pressure to her arm with one hand, and then stuck the needle in, injecting anesthetic. After making sure the needle had delivered the drug properly, he removed the needle and continued applying pressure to the area. "The bullet isn't too deep in, so it will be easy to remove. But first this anesthetic must settle in." He nodded to the three nations and backed away, though still close by, murmuring with the nurse.

Vash, in the meantime, had watched from the door frame, his arms crossed. As a race of thoughts went through his mind, he turned to one of the other doctors, who had been standing in the hallway with a clipboard, jotting something down as he talked with the other group of medics. The Swiss coughed and cleared his throat, causing the others to pause and look at him. "How is she? And how long will she have to stay?"

The doctor lowered his clipboard, shaking his head. "The wounds are bad, no doubt. But she is strong, and recovering much faster than we thought she would. If all goes well, she should be up and about my tomorrow evening, even though we would like to keep her for a longer amount of time, just to monitor her. She lost a good deal of blood, but that has been taken care of." Vash nodded, his eyes traveling again to look at the room Elizaveta was located in. _She won't let you keep her for longer than that,_ he mused. His eyes then traveled to the clock. _11:00 P.M._

* * *

Valdimar gently shook his head, though in frustration. _Sacrificing an EU meeting for the sake of Elizaveta. That sounds like him alright...I don't think I can stop him._ He knew that the Dane was completely serious, and in times like these, it was pointless to try to hold him back - he was sure that Mathias would fight to get his way if he interfered. He closely followed the Dane, needing to pick up his speed slightly to catch up to him, and nodded to the men with their luggage that they could leave after setting down their belongings.

At Mathias's words, the Icelander lifted up his head in alarm. He opened his mouth and reached out his hand, about to say 'wait' while debating whether he should come, but realized that this issue didn't involve him. Valdimar ended up simply releasing a sigh, frowning, and shook his head once more. He glanced at his puffin, which exchanged a look with its owner, and mumbled, "Hopefully he'll return in time for the meeting." Unable to do anything else at the moment, Valdimar decided to head inside his room and started unpacking for the conference the next day.

...

Roderich silenced himself as the doctor warned the Hungarian of the possible pain that she could receive from the anesthetics, stepping back and closely surveying him. The doctors here were the best of the best and the most reliable, he knew - the CLINIC hospitals did not hire any other to make sure that the nations who were treated here were given the most care possible. Even so, the Austrian couldn't help but to make sure they were doing their jobs.

Elizaveta nodded in response, keeping in mind that Roderich didn't want her to speak too much. She stared straight ahead of her, unaware that her eyes were essentially on Vash, and waited for the pain to come. As her arm began stinging, her lips stiffened into a small frown, though didn't do much more; after all, the Hungarian had just dealt with something worse earlier. Her attention automatically turned to the side conversation the Swiss was having with another doctor, but their voices were too low to pick up. She frowned, then wondered how he was feeling. _He mustn't like it here so much...he had just returned to Lili's house, too. Maybe I should tell Lili that she should leave soon with her brother._ "Lili," she called gently, pausing for a moment to decide whether or not she could talk well enough, "thank you for coming along, but don't you have things to do with Vash? I'll be alright."

* * *

Mathias didn't turn on the radio, didn't relax in his seat, didn't take his eyes off the road, and didn't pay attention to speed limits. His car roared down the roads, his car humming, excited to move at such fast speeds. He needed to get to Budapest as fast as possible. The only thing on his mind was the Hungarian, and his thoughts were tainted with the knowledge that she was hurt and requiring medical care.

As fast as he was going, it still felt like days, and when he finally reached Budapest his chest surged with joy, the memory of the city still fresh in his mind. "Take me to the CLINIC," he commanded his navigation system. It immediately responded, and mapped out the route. He soon found himself parking the car in front, leaning back in his seat and looking up, his eyes closed. He let out a large sigh, and upon re-opening his eyes, looked around. The Dane then carefully got out of his car, locking it behind him as he walked to the front doors. The guards halted, staring at him, but nodded to allow him through. _Eli. . ._

...

The young female nation walked up to Elizaveta as she beckoned her, and slightly frowned at her words. _That is true. . .But, I don't want to leave Lizzy like this. Then again, she has Roderich, and soon enough, Mathias. . ._ She nodded slowly. "I suppose so- - -Vash always has something going on. But, please Lizzy, take care, and make sure to message me with any updates, okay?" She smiled, her hand taking hers and squeezing it gently. "Get well soon. I'll see if I can come by and visit tomorrow." The Liechtensteinerin then turned, walking up to her brother. "Shall we leave?"

Vash had zoned out temporarily, though snapped to attention at the approach of his sibling. He blinked at her, then nodded. "Ah, yes. As nice as it would be to hang around, Elizaveta is a strong girl, and we do have our own things to attend to. Roderich is here, anyway." Lili nodded, having just thought what he had spoken, and the two siblings began to make their way outside, thanking all of the staff members for their good work. However, Lili found herself slamming right into a tall, blond figure. She looked up, her eyes widening as they settled on the face of the Dane. _H-He's so tall. . . _

"Sorry. Where's Elizaveta?" The young nation pointed to the direction of the Hungarian's room, and saw him run off to it. Vash blinked after him, then turning to his sister, suspicious. "Mathias? What is he doing here?"

* * *

Elizaveta smiled, thankful that the siblings had trusted her and Roderich concerning her health. She nodded once, looking up at the small nation (who, ironically, seemed just a bit taller from where she laid) as she murmured, "Of course, Lili. I'll see you then; goodbye, and take care." Roderich, too, straightened his posture and gave his word of farewell, uttering, "Goodbye, Lili." He eyed the door as if to make sure Vash wasn't giving him a look, then approached the Hungarian again once the other two nations departed to meticulously watch her.

Elizaveta also displayed a weak smile to the Austrian, feeling somewhat bad that he was spending his time to look out for her. Even if she could take care of herself, she knew that trying to ask Roderich to leave wouldn't work. Years and years of her life with this man told her so, before and after their marriage and divorce. Her attention was then grabbed by the doctor, who said, "It seems like the anesthetic is working right now. I'll be removing the bullet now, so please sit still." He beckoned over a nurse for various supplies and medical tools, then carefully grabbed a small tweezer and gripped Elizaveta's arm, bending in to remove the bullet residing in it.

The Hungarian's eyes veered away from the doctor as he did what he needed to do to take out the bullet. She disliked watching doctors working on their patients like this, so she felt the urge to avert her gaze from her arm. Elizaveta was just about to begin a conversation with Roderich until she spotted a familiar figure at the doorway of the room, widening her eyes in shock as she recognized the man she had been yearning for since the second he disappeared from her sight: Mathias.

Her heart nearly stopped beating and her brain went out of focus, causing the various machines that measured her heart rate to detect her sudden, dangerous, but temporary drop in health and momentarily shriek out beeps in alarm. Elizaveta slowly levered herself onto her elbows, the urgent words of both Roderich and the doctor completely blurred and incomprehensible to her ears, and stared in disbelief at the Dane standing at the entrance of her room. Her desire for him, her memories with the Dane, his unique scent - they all attacked and flooded her senses at once, sending her heart to emotionally soar. Why he wasn't in Brussels for the meeting, she didn't know; how he found out that she was here, she had no idea; how he made it here, she didn't have a clue; but why he was here...there was only one possible reason why he would have done this, why he spared his time and his energy to make it to the CLINIC at this very moment, this very hour, this very minute, this very second. From that single reason, Elizaveta's eyes welled up in tears as her eyebrows crooked downward and her slightly ajar mouth stiffened a frown. Her free hand stretched out to reach the newcomer, who seemed so _tangible_ despite knowing that her fingertips wouldn't contact him from where she sat, and caused several cords that attached to her to inevitably follow her movements whether or not they should have. She was overflowing with so many emotions that she barely had the voice to rasp out one name with a grating edge and a desperate tone of voice - "_Mathias._"

* * *

**_A/N:_**

_Wow, looking at the Traffic, the last chapter got a lot of attention. o_o And we don't want to sound pushy, but we really would love any feedback..it's nice to know what our readers think. :'D_

_Oh oh! So we have agreed on how this fanfiction/RP is going to end (finally x_x). How long it'll take until we get there, we don't know. What's going to happen to make the RP get there, we have no idea either. xD We suspect it'll be at least...45-50 chapters total? Yeah. Insane. But we have an idea to the ending of the RP, though we feel that some things are missing from it, so there's some tweaking to do. :0_

_Also, Spain is mentioned in this chapter - that's only because he's was leading the EU at the time that we wrote this part. Currently it's Belgium. c: Another fun fact for you guys! Though yeah, the EU is a lot more complex and has all these different divisions...we're simplifying it since it's nation representations and not the mass amount of politicians usually found in the EU._

_Oh, and the CLINIC is actually not ours. orz Amerzt happened to find it in another fanfiction on the Hetalia Kink Meme-A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes. So credit goes to that lovely anonymous writer. ;3; _


	29. Chapter 28

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 28**

* * *

Mathias froze at the doorway of the room the Hungarian was being treated in. His heart sunk as he saw the various wires attached to her and the numerous doctors and nurses, as well as the bloodied bandages that covered her arms. _What. . .what happened?_ However, that didn't matter at that moment. All that mattered was that she was okay, that she was being treated to, that she. . .

His eyes widened, being snapped out of his thoughts at the shrieks of alarm from the machinery, and he made eye contact with the Hun. The Dane was dazed at first, but upon hearing her call out to him, upon seeing her action, something kicked him from behind, and his own heart pumped a new range of emotions throughout him. He soon found himself by Elizaveta's side, ignoring Roderich, taking hold of her outstretched, trembling hand and squeezing it. He pressed his forehead against hers, eyes closed, and whispered: "Idiot." He had to force himself not to let his emotions get to him, though he felt a mix of feelings from heartbreak to relief. _Idiot. . ._

Mathias's eyes then opened and traveled to the open wound on her arm that the doctor was attempting to treat beforehand. He gently pushed the Hungarian back down, nodding to the doctor, who still looked surprised from the Hungarian's actions. The doctor understood, and again proceeded to remove the bullet. A nurse came to check and make sure that the wires were in place and hadn't been disconnected. "Please, try to stay still this time." As the doctor worked, the Dane distracted the injured nation, brushing hair out of her face and stroking her cheek with his thumb. "Why did you have to go get yourself into something like this?" He murmured, though not expecting an answer.

Meanwhile, Lili smiled at her older brother. "Oh. . .you know." She walked out of the CLINIC as she spoke, glad that Mathias had decided to go through the trouble of coming to see Elizaveta. _So he does really care about her. . ._ Vash looked back towards the room, then shook his head, following after his sister. _I will never understand these people. . ._ He quickly got into his car, waited for the Liechtensteinerin to jump into the passenger seat, and sped back home.

* * *

The Austrian, too, had noticed the Dane at the doorway; he narrowed his eyes at first upon seeing him as his brain clicked into a different demeanor. However, that click reversed itself as Roderich realized that Elizaveta was sitting up and trying to take a hold of Mathias, and tried - though fruitlessly - to calm her down. It surprised him to see her this way - she never looked so..._agonized_ like this before. To his luck, the Dane himself was able to ease her and Roderich moved away immediately before anything dangerous could happen. He, with no doubt about it, was stunned by the Nordic's lack of hesitancy to display his affection toward her, as well as his commitment to his former wife. Again, he narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms upon a small epiphany. _...So perhaps what Elizaveta said regarding him was true._ Deciding it was best to leave the two alone (and before he could possibly get sickened from the scene), the Austrian left the room, though remained in the lobby of the CLINIC.

Elizaveta hadn't realized that she was literally gasping for air - _gasping for Mathias's scent_ - until he gently pressed his forehead against hers, causing her to exhale and inhale deeply as his unique aroma flowed through her nose. It greatly pacified her brain of her lust, and the pressure that the Dane's hand applied to hers further soothed her. Her eyes had closed while Mathias made his way to her, though slowly opened when that familiar, deep, husky voice of his rang through her ears. Even if he was gently scolding her, Elizaveta found that everything about him at the moment would only alleviate her.

As she regained control of herself and her body, her head shifted slightly to glance at the doctor, and nodded rather embarrassingly. Without realizing it until now, the Hungarian rested against the pillows underneath her head and body, staring at the doctor for a few more seconds before looking back at Mathias. Though he didn't expect an answer, she gave him one anyways: "I'm sorry. I couldn't control myself." Her voice was still weak and rather motherly sounding again due to her exposure to Roderich and the other nations. "...How in the world did you find me?"

* * *

Mathias could feel the Austrian watching him, and was relieved when he heard his retreating footsteps. He didn't want to face him at the moment, and instead returned his attention to the Hungarian. He shook his head slightly at her answer, though it hurt him to hear her so weak, as if her weakness was tearing away at his own strength. _Of course, not control herself..._ It wasn't like he could scold her for it-he was the kind who, given a situation, would not be able to control himself either. The Dane smiled in response to Elizaveta's question, sitting down on a small stool a nurse had provided.

"You can thank Lili for that. She sent me a couple of messages. Sweet girl." Mathias spoke softly, He continued to hold onto her free hand, comforting her in any way that he could. "I dropped off Valdi and our luggage at the hotel in Brussels, and I headed here right away." The Viking wanted to know what exactly had happened, but decided he would ask at a later time, when the Hun had regained some of her strength.

The doctor suddenly straightened up, a tweezer in one hand and a small, plastic bag in the other. Mathias thought his heart had dropped into his stomach when he saw what was held in between the tweezers. _. . .A bullet?_ He looked to the Hungarian incredulously, whispering: "He shot you? No, don't answer, save your breath." His gaze went to the doctor again, who was murmuring to the nurses before turning to the two nations.

"The bullet was removed properly. Now we just have to put in some stitches, and let you rest. Being as strong as you are and healing as fast you are, you should be up and about by tomorrow evening." He nodded to Elizaveta. Mathias nodded as well, glad that the doctors seemed to move fast. _Tomorrow evening. . .?_

* * *

The Hungarian temporarily widened her eyes when she was told that the Liechtensteinerin was the one who notified the Dane about her injured status. A small smile decorated her face as she closed her eyes, thinking as if sending a mental message. _...Thank you, Lili. I owe you much more than just a dinner now._ She shouldn't have been surprised to hear that she would do such a thing - though, Elizaveta couldn't ask for a better friend.

She reopened her eyes to look at Mathias, quickly admiring his facial features before turning her head to glance at the bullet displayed in the bag. Her mouth opened to answer the shocked Viking, but then frowned as he took back his words. She decided to disobey him and spoke anyways, waiting until the doctor finished talking first. "I'm not that weak," she mumbled with insistence, though her tone of voice still proved her otherwise. In a more serious manner, she continued shortly, "Yes, he did." To the doctor, she replied to him calmly, though she was truly somewhat angry but managed to mask it well. "I have important business to attend to tomorrow morning - I'll be able to leave once you put in the stitches." She refused to miss out on the EU meeting tomorrow, especially after what Emil had done to her. However, the doctor did not approve of her plan and shook his head to tell her so.

"I'm afraid we can't let you do that. We would rather release you when we are certain that you are in good health." The doctor lowered his voice slightly. "After all, _Magyarorszg_, you are our lifeline, and your welfare is not to be taken lightly." Elizaveta frowned slightly in some frustration, looking away from the doctor; he was right, and she couldn't deny him. Essentially, if she got her ways and arrived at Brussels in time for the meeting, she could potentially let down her people by going in such a terrible condition. Slowly but reluctantly, the Hungarian nodded and murmured, "...Alright."

* * *

Mathias frowned at the Hungarian's response. _So the two do truly hate each other. . ._ As angry as he would like to be at the Slovak, he knew he couldn't be-after all, he wasn't to get involved in personal affairs of other nations, and he himself had had good relations with Emil. "Not that weak, my ass." He murmured, knitting his eyebrows at her. He sighed, shaking his head, and listened to the conversation between Elizaveta and the doctor, though not without struggling to hide a small smile as the Hungarian showed her stubbornness.

"He's right, Eli." The Dane spoke gently. "Your health is more important than a meeting. Besides, the conference is three days long- - missing one day, especially in your current state, isn't a big deal." He bent to kiss her forehead before looking at the doctor, speaking in a more authoritative voice. "Well then, put in the stitches right away." The doctor nodded, and motioned to one of his nurses. He wanted to ask the male nation to leave the room as they performed, but decided not to, as the Hungarian was the only patient in the CLINIC center after all (not to mention that the Hun also had a temper, and it would be better to have someone around who could keep her calm).

A nurse approached the doctor with another small tray of tools, and after exchanging a glance with the Viking, began to work on stitching up the wound. Mathias understood the glance and again distracted Elizaveta, squeezing the hand he held again and brought it up to his lips, and murmured against her skin: "You're going to be the death of me, someday." He smiled, not able to suppress a small and soft chuckle. _We both will._

* * *

Again, another frown appeared onto Elizaveta's face. Though it didn't bother her too much nor did she make a big deal out of it, she disliked it when Mathias wouldn't side with her with things such as this. Of course, she knew that he was doing this for her benefit, not that he was truly against her. It was still tempting to leave right away, however; Emil constantly returned to her thoughts, occasionally igniting her hostility, and made her want to get to Brussels immediately. Luckily, Elizaveta refrained herself, even relaxing her thoughts as her eyes came upon Mathias, and nodded to his words less hesitantly. After the Nordic encouraged the doctor to begin stitching, she turned her head once more to glance at the man tending to her wound, but then instinctively looked away, finding herself setting her eyes on Mathias again. A small grin appeared on her face. "I have to say the same for you."

Then, she discovered that something seemed...out of place. She blinked a few times, realizing what it was. "Where..." Elizaveta again observed the room. "Where did Roderich go?" Worry filled her heart - hopefully the Austrian didn't leave because of Mathias. The aristocrat _did_ say that he was fine with her relationship with Mathias...but maybe he was giving her time with him? _I guess that's it,_ she assumed. The Hun's concern for him cleared away when a nurse came in and overheard her question, answering, "Edelstein _r_ is sitting in the lobby." Her heart seemed to relax in relief. _So he didn't leave after all...but he needs to go to Brussels, doesn't he? And Mathias, too?_

She then flinched her arm, feeling something strange in it - the stitches - before questioning Mathias again, deciding to ask Roderich the same thing later. "Well, I have a reason to miss the first day of the meeting...but you certainly don't." The Hungarian paused, thinking what he could say next. "Don't tell me you intend on staying here with me."

* * *

Mathias smile had widened at her response, but disappeared as she had asked about the Austrian. Before he could answer her question, one of the nurses had, calming the Hungarian down, who had looked so worried and concerned it was difficult for the Dane to suppress a frown, but he managed.

At her question, he blinked a couple of times, not expecting it. _Though I should, coming from her. . ._ He thought about Roderich, and how it seemed he had planned to stay with Elizaveta, and miss the first day of the conference. Mathias wanted to do the same, even though he knew quite well that the Hun would not be happy with that, or his brothers, for that matter. He sheepishly smiled, twirling a lock of her hair between his fingers. "Well, that's what I planned on doing before I even got here." He paused, thinking. "I mean, I've driven all the way over here, haven't I? It would seem a waste to head back now. . ."

* * *

Elizaveta blinked at him several times, somewhat surprised. Eventually, her lips curled up into yet another smile, but she still worried about him - if Mathias _and_ Roderich were missing as well, what would the other nations see from the conference? More of her concern, if they found out her relationship with Mathias, what would they think? Even if Roderich and Lili approved of it, who knew what opinions the other nations would have. Her smile faded from that thought, but managed to recover it quickly as she answered with a small chuckle, shaking her head slowly, "Of course you would say that, Mathias. But..." She paused, discovering that her next question about his decision to stay here would be rather pointless to ask. Instead, another question formed in her head. "You will be returning before the meeting begins, right?"

_It begins at 8...what time is it now?_ Elizaveta shifted her eyes around to hunt down a clock, then realized it was almost midnight. _...He might end up staying here even after the meeting begins. Roderich too._

* * *

The Dane's eyes, too, had traveled to the clock, observing the time. _It's practically midnight. . ._ He then looked back at her, wearing a foolish smile. "Before it begins? I'm not too sure if that'll be possible." He shook his head. "Don't worry, Eli. It's seriously not that big of a deal. Your well-being is priority right now, and until I see that you've recovered, I'm not going to be able to concentrate." He realized he was basically pouring out his feelings towards her right in front of not only her but others, but he didn't care.

He suddenly remembered he had promised to send Valdimar an update, and quickly pulled out his phone to send him a message.  
_Probably staying overnight-might not make it to the meeting tomorrow._

He knew the Icelander and others wouldn't be too happy to hear that, but again, he didn't care. If the doctors believed the Hungarian could be up on her feet by the evening of the next day, he might as well just wait. After all, he along with the Nordics always seemed to be outcasts, himself only shining in the spotlight when it came to talking about business. What was the big deal if he missed one day? _Besides, the majority of the time will be holding a panel and questioning Emil about his actions. . ._

* * *

Elizaveta's eye twitched as she felt more pressure and tightening on her arm, though did not receive any pain. Again, she found the stitching strange to her senses, but did her best to continue ignoring it. Before the Hungarian could respond to the Dane, the doctor murmured while doing his work, not moving his head up, "Are you alright?" Elizaveta nodded her head and told him not to worry about her in her own language, then turned her attention back to Mathias.

"Not able to concentrate?" A grin immediately popped onto her face; if he was _that_ easily distracted by her...if he really had her on his mind that much..._I'm flattered._ However, the same could be said for Roderich, so she thought twice about feeling that way...but Elizaveta could imagine that he could concentrate on meetings and any sort of business-like thing very well. Mathias struck her as the type of person that would fidget irritably and impatiently in his chair, dozing off when he got too tired from squirming around. Her smile remained glued onto her face from that image. "...Alright, if you're really that worried about me. I really hate to do this to you." _Only if Emil didn't go that far..._ "And...aren't you tired? You should get some rest if you've been moving around Europe this much."

* * *

The Dane enjoyed the sight of the Hungarian's grin-it comforted him to know that she really was okay, not to mention before the two had gotten into the relationship they shared now, it was difficult to ever see her this happy. He fidgeted slightly, getting a bit impatient at the amount of time it was taking the doctor to put in the stitches. He frowned at Elizaveta's comment, shaking his head. "Do what to me? Will you stop being so apologetic all the time?" It was starting to strike a nerve, but Mathias knew it was just that the Hun had grown accustomed to it while being with Roderich.

Mathias managed to suppress a yawn as she reminded him of sleep, shaking his head lightly again. "I'm fine, and I'll get my rest. Stop worrying about my health and concentrate on yours!" His eyes wandered to the wound the doctor was tending to, and breathed a sigh of relief when the doctor finally straightened up, nodding.

"The stitches are in place. Now, please don't move that arm too much- -it is important to keep it as still as possible." He motioned to one of the nurses, who came and wrapped a bandage around her shoulder and upper arm. "Now it is important to rest. I will get one of the nurses to bring you some food, and please relax. Otherwise it will take longer for it to heal." The doctor took off his gloves as he spoke, nodded to the nations again, and walked off, speaking softly with some of the others in the room as they kept an eye on her statistics. The Viking watched the others, trying to pick up what they were saying, but realizing that they were speaking in their native tongue, sighed and looked back to the Hun, flashing her a smile.

* * *

Mathias' words somewhat startled her, but Elizaveta wasn't hurt at all. She started picking up that he disliked it when she was formal with him, though couldn't help it as it was her nature to say such things. _Especially_ when Mathias was risking himself for her. It was literally a circle - he would do anything for her, and she would do anything for him. And somehow, they were still living...just somehow.

Once the doctor was done with his task and further advised her about her arm, Elizaveta nodded, not bothering to translate what the doctor said for Mathias as she thought it was not important, and became rather disappointed. She was hoping to at least walk around the hospital, somewhat unwilling to remain in one place for such a long time, but would probably have been held down by the Viking sooner or later. Instead, she beckoned a nurse passing by in the hallway with a gentle call, requesting that they fetch food for both Mathias and Roderich. The nurse nodded with a smile and immediately changed directions to do so.

After a few seconds of silence, Elizaveta slipped her hand out of the Dane's to caress his cheek. Her eyes softened upon staring up at him as she murmured, letting her emotions flow out, "I've...missed you, Mathias. Hours without you seem like years." She paused, rather embarrassed with how attached she has become to him. "How was your day with the others?"

* * *

As Elizaveta caressed his cheek, the Dane brought up his hand to mask hers, enjoying the feel of her soft and smooth skin. Her confession caused Mathias to look at her in surprise, not expecting her to say such a thing. He found warmth and joy surge through him-since when had anyone felt that way about him? He couldn't think of one. . .most found him either a nuisance or too stubborn, thus being relieved when not with him.

"I've missed you too." He replied, his voice quiet and barely above a whisper. "I couldn't stop thinking about you, not once." He leaned in closer to her, taking in her sweet scent, his own breath tickling at her face. "And it was. . .okay. We didn't actually get to hang out as there was a protest-a peaceful one-going on in Copenhagen, Eirik got called about some issues, and so did Valdimar, so we ended up splitting up pretty fast. But everything is okay, so. . ." He trailed off. Mathias didn't want the Hungarian to think he was pushing off his own duties to see her. Everything truly had been alright. "And now I'm here with you."

* * *

A blush discolored the skin on the Hungarian's face. Countless times, men and boys have flirted with her or tried to flatter her - and none of those worked, ever really. Yet, she was flushing over something so small and simple so easily. His voice, again, was like music notes to her ears - impeccable, rich, deep, and somehow not needing to be in tune. Elizaveta, too, felt Mathias' warm breath stick onto her skin, soaking in his scent as she murmured, "A peaceful protest...as expected from your people." Her smile strengthened slightly. "It's good to hear that everything's alright. Though, I have some news for you - aside from this." A nurse interrupted the two just as Elizaveta completed her sentence, arriving with two trays of high quality Hungarian food. She laid out a bed desk above the hospitalized nation before setting down one of the trays, then handed Mathias the other.

"Mr. Edelstein would like to thank you," the nurse told Elizaveta, again in her native language. The country again smiled and nodded, once more asking her to tell Roderich that if he needs to leave, then he may. The nurse bobbed her head down and up before leaving, carrying out her request. Finally, Elizaveta continued, keeping her hand on Mathias' face (and again not translating), "Roderich doesn't mind about our relationship. As long as I'm safe."

* * *

The sight of her blush made it difficult for the Dane not to smirk. However, he found him smiling from her comment. _As expected, eh? Good to know I've built a reputation._ He perked up at her next words, wondering what the news was. Before he could find out though, he found the nurse setting up the bed desk for the Hungarian, and took the tray offered to him. "Thank you." He said to the nurse, before returning to look at the food, a bit confused. _I didn't ask for anything to eat. . ._ He sighed, knowing that Elizaveta had probably requested it, and even if not, that the workers at CLINIC would treat any of the nations with the highest degree of respect and hospitality.

His attention then was brought back to the Hun, his eyes slightly widening as she spoke. _What?_ That was a surprise. He had expected the Austrian to continue being a grump, and continue to hold the Dane in the negative light he did. _So maybe he's not too bad of a guy after all._ He then remembered her last words. _As long as she's safe. . ._ He smiled, and nodded. "Heh, well then, I guess there won't be a problem."

* * *

Elizaveta lightly shook her head, withdrawing her hand away from Mathias' face. "No, there won't." She then turned her head to observe the food that she was given; they had served her vegetable soup in a bowl, though from the smell of it, she didn't detect that much spice. The hospital was probably limited when it came to adding that ingredient, seeing as they feared that it could cause upset stomachs. The Hungarian took one of the spoons provided and test-tasted the soup, determining that it was edible - and very well made, at that.

She fiddled around with her spoon as her eyes gazed upon Mathias once more, secretly admiring his appearance (despite him being slightly disheveled) before urging him, "Eat, Mathias. If a Viking wants to stay strong, he can't skip meals - right?" Elizaveta's lips twitched into a small smirk, hoping that it would spark something inside of him to start eating.

* * *

Mathias watched the Hungarian taste the soup, himself still holding the tray that the nurse had given to him, untouched. At her remark, he laughed. "Eli, I eat so much during the day I don't think I even need to worry about that." He then returned her smirk, and to make her happy, decided to eat what had been given to him. It was the same as the Hungarian's, and he slowly raised the spoon to his mouth, tasting it, and then downed the spoonful. It was. . .different, from what he usually ate, but it was good and a decent enough dinner.

"There? See, I'm eating. Now concentrate on yourself and eat-or do I have to feed you?" His smirk widened, twirling his spoon around with his fingers.

* * *

"Eat so much, you say?" Elizaveta released a small laugh, then twisted her head with little strain to get a proper view of the Dane, once again moving her eyes up and down to scan (and to be honest, explore) his body. It never disappointed her. "I wonder how you manage to keep a fit body like that, then." She watched him scoop up a spoon of the soup, with some hope that he would enjoy it. _He should, since this hospital's food is better than any other out there._

She then raised her eyebrow slightly at his question, and strengthened her smirk. "No thanks, I don't find it difficult to pick up a spoon, get food with it, chew the food, and swallow it." Her hand executed her words exactly, leaving some silence and glancing at a nurse coming in to check on her arm before she continued, "But I see that you have trouble with it."

* * *

Mathias grinned at her comment. "Well, it's not like I sit around all day and do nothing while eating away." He chuckled, though stopped at her answer to his question. He watched her as she spoke, and snickered quietly. "Congratulations, you can successfully eat a bowl of soup. Want me to give you an award?" The Dane smirked widely, and repeated the Hungarian's reactions, exactly as she had done. "No, I think I'm fine. Better than you, anyway." He then quickly finished up the rest of the soup, his stomach suddenly craving for food.

Once finished, Mathias once again smirked at her. "Now let's see how long it takes you to finish that." He nodded towards her bowl of soup. A nurse had walked by and saw the Dane's empty bowl, and immediately relieved him of it, smiling and walking out of the room so quickly that he didn't even have a chance to thank her. He looked over to the time again. _Wow, has that much time passed by already?_ It was well past midnight, the first hour quickly approaching. He then looked to the Hungarian, this time speaking in a softer voice. "You better get some rest."

* * *

Elizaveta rolled her eyes, though was unable to hide a smile. The way the Dane teased her told her that he was in a good mood, and nothing bad - _that_ bad anyway - had happened while she was away from him. And it proved that he wasn't lying either, which was another plus. "Is this the way you'll treat me whenever I'm hospitalized?" she questioned with a chuckle. "But no. I'm better than that to just greedily accept an 'award', which is probably something ridiculous anyways." Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Mathias imitate her while she herself slipped another spoonful of soup into her mouth. She frowned against the utensil. _I take that as a challenge._ Immediately, she increased her eating pace, but then was spotted by a worried nurse who told her to take her time. Elizaveta sighed and took her word of advice, lagging down her speed and nodding to Mathias's suggestion as well.

When she finally finished, Elizaveta sighed with satisfaction, leaving the empty spoon and bowl for the nurses to clean after. In a short amount of time, one nurse retrieved them in addition to the bed desk, then the doctor reentered to check on her. After exchanging a few lines and a small examination at her wound, the doctor nodded and murmured in English to the Dane and Hungarian, "She's good to go for the night, though we'll be regularly checking her throughout the night. _Magyarorszg_, it's best that you sleep now, and thank you very much, _Dnia_, for your company." He nodded to recognize the Dane before disappearing from the room once again.

The Hun stared off after the doctor for a few seconds before snapping back into attention as she realized that Roderich entered the room, sitting up straight suddenly as a shiver zipped down her back nervously as a reflex. Though the Austrian admitted that he accepted Mathias, Elizaveta was still worried about the way the two would treat each other. Roderich approached his ex-wife with ease on the empty side of the bed, almost as if ignoring Mathias, and murmured, "Are you alright, Elizaveta? Do you need anything?"

The female nation shook her head, her polite and respectful demeanor instantly returning to her without consciously noticing it. "I'm fine, Roderich. Please, if you need to, you can return to Brussels for the meeting. It's late and I know that those are important to you."

"No, not when you're in this condi-"

"_Roderich._" Elizaveta pursed her lips, feeling rude that she interrupted him in mid-sentence to try to convince him. It sounded like she wanted him to go away just so that she had some time alone with Mathias, too. But she truly _was_ concerned for him and luckily he listened anyways, knowing that whenever she did this, it was serious. After a moment of silence, she continued, "You have much to talk about. And, as a personal request, I want you to talk it out...with Emil."

Roderich needed several seconds to absorb her words, then nodded in comprehension, accepting her words. "...Of course." His eyes narrowed as he came upon a realization, finally wandering over to Mathias. "...And I trust you that you will take care of her?" Elizaveta's heart nearly knotted up in worry as the aristocrat began to interact with the Nordic; his tone of voice was neither cold nor friendly, but seemed more as if he wanted to know something - not just information, but if Mathias could care for the Hungarian.

* * *

Mathias grinned at her response. _Ridiculous award? Maybe._ He watched her put down the bowl and spoon with satisfaction, and observed the nurses quickly coming to retrieve everything. He perked up when the doctor approached, and was relieved to know that everything so far was going by fine. The Dane was taken by surprise when the doctor turned to acknowledge him, and nodded affirmatively in response.

The Viking was about to turn and say something to the Hun, but noticed the Austrian walk into the room and approach them. He closed his mouth and watched and listened quietly. He perked up at the mention of the Slovak, and his eyes wandered over to Roderich. _I guess if anyone can talk it out calmly . .or somewhat calmly. . .he'd be the best choice. . ._ He then again was taken by surprise when the Austrian suddenly turned to him. Mathias's eyes narrowed at his question, and he had to force himself to keep his eyes glued to him instead of wandering back to Elizaveta, showing Roderich that he was determined.

"Of course. I can and _will_ take care of her." He responded coolly, showing the Austrian that he wasn't as bad as he had made him out to be. "It's best that you attend the meeting. As Elizaveta said, you probably have a lot to say, and of course, the issue with Emil. . .they're going to want someone who knows a bit more when they question him tomorrow." The Dane had almost gone to his 'business-mode', how he usually would act in a meeting. Even though the Hungarian had told him that Roderich accepted them as a couple, he still felt that the Austrian was suspicious of him. _But he is after all actually letting me watch over her. . ._

* * *

Roderich closely listened to the Dane's words, his expression not changing as he was too preoccupied with picking up Mathias's tone of voice. He sensed no hatred, no scowling - none of that. He even noticed that the way he spoke was familiar, since the memories of past meetings reappeared in his head. Deciding that the Nordic was not intentionally trying to offend or scare him off, the Austrian nodded slowly, keeping his gaze on the other man for a while longer before murmuring to Elizaveta, taking hold of her hand without the wound and lightly planting a kiss on it as a form of farewell. The Hungarian knew better not to take that as a sign of affection, aware that it was his tradition to do that. "I will see you later then, Elizaveta. Take care of yourself and don't do anything reckless." He set down her hand onto her body before departing, not turning back once to either of them.

Elizaveta nodded and, rather worriedly, watched Roderich walk out of the room, but couldn't help but display a small smile. _He didn't cause any trouble this time. Thank goodness._ She released a sigh, though noticed that her body suddenly felt tired and wiped out after doing so. The Hun was nearly convinced that she was having a food coma. Looking back at Mathias, she laid back down as she murmured with a weak grin, "I'm going to sleep now." Silence momentarily overcame her. There was one question she wanted to ask, but felt..._stupid_ for even wondering. Elizaveta summoned some courage to ask anyways, but rather shyly, "...You'll be here when I wake up, right?" She needed some kind of confirmation - some reassurance - that Mathias would still be there for her, the thoughts of her relationship with Roderich back then now haunting her.

* * *

Mathias watched the Austrian leave, feeling relieved (though he had slightly twitched when Roderich kissed her hand), and looked back to Elizaveta. He could see how tired she was-just a look at her eyes was enough to tell. He nodded at her words, though saw that something was bothering the Hungarian. Before he could ask, she spoke again, her voice and actual question surprising him. The Dane's eyes widened slightly, staring at her. _Why would she even. . ._

He leaned closely to her, his nose brushing hers, and responded: "Of course. What type of question is that?" He gave her a quick good-night kiss, smiling at her, and sat back down, watching her as she fell asleep. Mathias was ready to knock out as well, and glanced around. As he did so, a nurse quietly approached him.

"_Dniaban_, would you like to stay here or in the guest room? We have a room ready for you, if you would like." She spoke softly, as to not disturb Elizaveta. The Dane glanced at the injured nation, and looked back at the nurse. "I'll be fine. I can sleep just about anywhere. But thank you." Mathias had glanced behind him, and there was a comfortable enough looking couch in the room. He would just drag it to Elizaveta's bedside, he decided. The nurse looked at him in concern, but decided to leave the nation be and smiled. "Good night, then, sir. If you do change your mind, the room is just down the hallway, to the right." She turned around and left, closing the door but not all the way, so that the doctors and nurses could come in to check on her when needed.

* * *

Relief flooded through Elizaveta's body, though she had no reason to be unrelieved. Even so, she felt this tinge of worry still remaining inside of her - but then realized something. If Mathias said he would be there and she was still concerned, it meant that she wasn't trusting him. There was no way she couldn't trust him. The tiny bit of worry in her head seemed to be blown away instantly upon her epiphany, and she closed her eyes as Mathias pressed his lips against hers, a surge of intense warmth flowing into her body. Almost immediately, Elizaveta sunk into sleep; but as she heard a nurse, her ears listened closely to her words in case it was important, causing her to be no deeper than half-asleep. The Hungarian found her mouth twitching into a small smile in response to Mathias's answer. _He's rejecting a better place to sleep for..._ Her thoughts trailed off as her senses faded out, allowing sleep to dominate her for the night.

* * *

Mathias waited a few minutes, listening to the Hungarian's breathing pattern. Once he confirmed that she was fast asleep, he stood up and stretched, and found himself letting out a long yawn. _Man, I really am tired._ Exhaustion from the day was catching up with him-fast. He looked behind him at the couch, and slowly and quietly dragged it over, moving the stool to the side. The Dane dimmed the lights, then sighed as he plopped onto the couch, enjoying the sensation of his body sinking into its soft exterior. He spread out on it, slinging his legs over the arm of the couch, his head resting on the other arm. It wasn't the most comfortable position, but Mathias didn't care.

As he stared up at the ceiling, numerous thoughts floated in his head. He wondered about the meeting tomorrow. He wondered how his fellow Nordics would react to his absence. He wondered what the _others_ would think of his absence, and if it in the end would reveal the relationship the two now shared. He wondered what would come of the questioning of Emil, and hoped everything could be worked out peacefully. He wondered if Elizaveta would be okay the following day, and that she would heal properly. Finally, sleep overtook him, and his eyelids slowly drooped until they were closed, and he was out, his thoughts vanishing into thin air.

* * *

**_A/N:_**

_SUPERRR overdue chapter. Sorry about that...this actually should have gone ahead and been uploaded with chapter 27 but...yeah, didn't happen. Things have been hectic on our side, but yeah. _

_So for that we're going to go ahead and upload the next chapter as well~_


	30. Chapter 29

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 29**

* * *

Morning didn't come to the Hungarian quite well the next day; Elizaveta was nearly shocked into consciousness as pain bit her awake, moaning quietly while blinking several times to fully wake up. Her arm felt incredibly weak with her wounds, greatly irritating her by begging for attention. For sure, the anesthesia had worn off. Her blurred vision gradually cleared up after some seconds, adjusting to the darkness due to the blinds, then her eyes wandered back and forth in hope to see or recognize something. They apparently discovered the clock, which told her that it was early morning - 8 o' clock, and a quick moment later they came upon the doctor, who was further inspecting her arm.

"_Jó reggelt, Magyarország__,_" the doctor murmured, putting down a tool on a tray that a nurse was holding behind him. "I hope I didn't wake you up...however, you did wake up just as the anesthesia was gone." Elizaveta nodded slowly and in pain, though was able to handle it rather well. She experienced plenty of these before - nothing new. The doctor rose, apparently finished with his work, and continued, "Everything is going well, as expected. I will tell one of the nurses to get breakfast for you."

"_Köszönöm__,_" the Hungarian replied, nodding. Her chest began to burn as she remembered something - Elizaveta looked to her left with some dread, but then immediately relaxed as she gazed upon the sleeping Dane. A smile adorned her face. _...So he kept his promise..._ She was quite tempted to bend down and caress or kiss him, the peaceful expression on his face so _irresistible_, but had to refrain as she would injure herself even more, which would upset Mathias once he woke up and found out.

Her attention was drawn away from him as the bed desk from yesterday reappeared above her lower body, with a nurse just setting down a tray of food, much like the day before. However, since the nurse was one of her nation's people, the tradition of eating the most during breakfast was adhered to, as more food was waiting on her plates to be eaten. "_Élvez__,_" the nurse chirped, though quietly as to not interfere with the Dane's sleep, and left the room to allow Elizaveta time to engulf her meal.

* * *

Mathias had had a surprisingly peaceful and dreamless sleep, his body having adjusted to his position rather well. He had shifted around a couple of times, but for the most part was still laying in the same way. As morning came, the sunlight that filtered through the windows fell upon him, and gently began to wake his body. His hearing came back first, as he heard the murmurings of the nurses, and the _clinkclank_ of what sounded like metal against porcelain. Soon, the Dane's other senses came to him as well, as he felt a crick in his neck and back, and the light of the sun was visible behind his eyelids. He moaned lightly as he shifted slightly, groaning as the feeling in his neck and back became more apparent, and slowly blinked his eyes open.

A yawn came upon him, and he immediately (or what felt immediately-it was probably a much slower action to anyone watching), raised an arm to his mouth, before his mouth finally closed again. His surroundings soon became clear, and he remembered he had gone to sleep in the same room as the injured Hungarian. Mathias turned his head to see her, who was enjoying a hearty breakfast meal, and watched silently before finding his voice, which sounded groggy and rasp: "Good morning."

* * *

Elizaveta perked up as she heard Mathias's voice, which seemed somewhat altered in some way. She twisted her head to peer down at him from her bed, smiling as she murmured softly, "Good morning." The Hungarian took a moment to analyze his tone of voice, then her lips curled down into a frown. "You sound sick...or tired." Like the night before, Elizaveta called in a nurse to immediately serve breakfast to the Dane, though particularly asking that the breakfast be small. Afterwards, she continued taking down her food, thinking when she would be released. _...The doctor is most likely waiting for me to finish breakfast before he can continue examining me..._ He hadn't given her any updates aside that she was recovering well...

_But maybe that just means I'll be out of here by evening._ The Hungarian viewed the clock once more for the time, then sighed. _The meeting already started. And evening is so far away from now...at least I have Mathias with me._ A smile reappeared on her face, her heart bursting with happiness. She assumed that he wouldn't be leaving anytime soon and was glad that he wouldn't.

* * *

The Dane sat up, stretching his arms above his head, twisting slightly to crack his back, and then lowered his arms, rubbing the back of his neck with a hand. "I'm fine," he laughed. "That's how I always sound when I wake up." He was glad to see her usual glowing self, despite her injuries. Mathias stretched out his legs a bit, and then was approached by a nurse, a tray in her hands.

"Good morning, _Dánia_. Here's some food to get your day started." She handed it over, which the Dane took gratefully as he thanked her, and the nurse disappeared from the room again. He took notice to the smaller portion on his plate, and smiled. _Okay, this time she definitely told them._ He began to eat slowly, enjoying the flavor entering his body, and then looked to the Hungarian. The Viking glanced at the bandages, and then at the clock. _So the meeting has started._ He checked his phone, and sure enough, there was a message. _From Berwald. Hmm..._ He opened it, and his suspicions of the meeting were confirmed.

_Mathias,  
Valdi told us what happened. Looks like they plan on focusing on what happened last night before anything else-this conference might end up being longer than three days if they want to cover everything along with this. They want you to also be able to come soon as possible-EU wants to see what NATO has to say. I told them you'd be here by tomorrow-you will be, won't you?  
-Berwald_

The Dane sighed quietly. _Great, I'll be dragged into the drama anyway._ He sent the Swede a quick reply before tucking away his phone. _The doctor hasn't said anything yet. . .hopefully she'll be okay to go this evening. . ._ He then began eating again, soon finishing up his breakfast, and looked again at Elizaveta, speaking gently. "How are you feeling?"

* * *

As a nurse came in to deliver the Dane his food, Elizaveta nodded to Mathias with some concern and murmured a thanks to the nurse before she left the room once again. She had perhaps completed her breakfast at about the same time Mathias did, then motioned to another nurse to once again take their plates and her bed desk. When her eyes returned to the Nordic, Elizaveta curiously watched him fiddle around with his phone, wondering what he could be up to, though chose not to ask what his text message was about. She _would_ have questioned him if it weren't for the differences between them that seemed to set up a barrier, keeping her away from getting to know him too well. However, it didn't prevent her for wishing for the best for the two of them.

"I'm alright," Elizaveta answered, though her tone of voice suggested something otherwise. She continued, "Since the anesthetics wore off, I'm feeling pain from the gunshots and my body is slightly weaker than it usually is - it's not that bad, really." Her words were an attempt to convince Mathias that she would recover very soon and were out of complete honesty, but if she had to guess his reactions, he wouldn't approve of it. Her eyes averted from him as she heard the doctor come back into the room, sitting down on the other side of her.

"Oh, good morning, _Dánia_ - I hope you slept well on that couch," the doctor greeted him as he flipped a page over on a clipboard. "As for you, _Magyarország_, we believe that you may be released in the afternoon if our check up on your body turns out to be alright, concerning the incident about the Slovak drunkard. You should be fine as long as you do not cough up blood. Also, your wounds from the gunshots just need to heal and do not need to be monitored as much, though we would like you to visit us every several days to make sure they're okay."

Elizaveta was greatly relieved to hear that she would be out of the hospital soon, and smiled at the doctor and Mathias before replying, "Thank you, doctor." Most of the time, whenever she was in the hospital for whatever reason, the Hungarian was always told that she could leave earlier than what was often expected. She didn't receive remarks from other nations to be the manliest of them all for nothing.

* * *

Mathias listened to Elizaveta, frowning as he could tell she was trying to make it sound like she was better than she really was. Before he could respond, the doctor had come in, causing the Dane to lean forward as he listened to him carefully. He nodded at his words, smiling in response to his inquiry about how he slept last night, before looking to the Hungarian, his eyes examining her wounds. His eyes darted again to the doctor when he said that the Hun would be fine to go by the afternoon. _Afternoon? That's even better._

"Yes, thank you so much." Mathias let out a sigh of relief, returning Elizaveta's smile. "Is there any paper work or the such to be done before she's discharged?" The doctor shook his head, waving over a couple of nurses. "No need, _Dánia_. That was already taken care of by _Ausztria_." The Dane blinked, then nodded slowly. _That guy. . ._

Seeing that the doctor and nurses wished to do a proper check up, the Viking pushed back the couch a bit and stood up, stretching. He turned to the Hun, moving a lock of her hair off of her face. "I'm going to go for a little walk. I'll be back in a couple of minutes and let them see how you're doing." Mathias smiled at her before turning around and leaving the room, hands in his pockets, and walked down the hallway of the CLINIC center. _If she gets discharged in the afternoon. . .we'll be able to make it back by tonight._

* * *

Elizaveta blinked in slight surprise as she heard that her ex-husband had filled out the paperwork. She figured that she _shouldn't_ be shocked at all, since he was the one who did that whenever she was hospitalized in the past. Roderich, too, had much experience completing those papers as well, so they were finished in a short amount of time. From looking at Mathias's expression, however, she sensed a feeling of...disappointment vibrating out of him? No, it wasn't disappointment, it was something she couldn't describe, but knew what it was. Whatever it was, it sounded as if _he_ wanted to take up that job, but Elizaveta had to say that it would have been better for Roderich to fill out the paperwork anyways.

The Hungarian laid back down, enjoying the Dane's fingers brushing along her skin, but then immediately sat up again when Mathias told her that he was going out for a walk. Her legs tingled with eagerness, wishing to come along with him; she couldn't stand sitting around for too long, but as his words echoed through her head again, Elizaveta ended up staying where she was and once again leaned back against the bed, waiting to be checked up by the doctors. Though it seemed too late to do so, she reciprocated a smile to Mathias and murmured, "Alright." She was just about to request the Scandinavian to return to her for another few seconds _just_ so that she could take one last whiff of his scent - but found it too...obsessive that she took it back. Elizaveta glanced at the doctor to queue that she was ready, and the nurses around her prepared the various machines and devices to scan her body for any defects.

* * *

Mathias slid out his phone, toying around with it for a bit. _Should I call anyone? No, they're probably busy in the meeting._ He made his way to the exit of the CLINIC, fingers still tapping on the keys of his mobile. He decided he might as well send a message to Roderich. _He'll want to know._ Still, the Dane couldn't help but knit his eyebrows as his eyes came upon the Austrian's name. He quickly typed the message and sent it, shoving his phone back in his pocket. _I don't want to think about him._

Once he was outside, he stretched, trying to get all the aches in his body to go away. Mathias looked towards the sky, glad that is was clear, and walked around the corner and down the street, hands in his pockets. He took careful note of what was around so he could easily get back to the CLINIC center, tucked away as it was. _I hope I don't get lost._

* * *

As the nurses were plugging in the last several cords to the machines, the doctor told the Hungarian, "We will be scanning your body to see if anything is wrong with it. Please relax and keep still." Elizaveta nodded, agreeing to his words, then did her best to do as he said, closing her eyes as the doctor pulled over a cover from a large device. _I should be alright,_ she told herself in her thoughts. _This isn't the first time. I've been always fine, so I should be okay._

For some reason, she felt her body unable to relax as much as it should have, but then tried a different method to soothe herself. Elizaveta turned her head slightly to her left, imagining that Mathias was still there with her; from that fabricated hallucination, her nose seemed to detect his scent anyways, causing the woman's breathing to even out. A smile appeared on her face from another thought: _I rely on him too much..._

. . .

Two women, both with rather elegant appearances, happened to be around the same area as the Dane, within plain sight. His height seemed to stand out among the every other person's along the sidewalk - and were his body and looks so _appealing_ to the two girls' eyes. They both spotted him and exchanged a glance as well as several Hungarian words, then giggled as they together calmly but eagerly approached Mathias, putting on confused expressions. As the distance between the women and Mathias closed, one of the Hungarians stepped up and spoke.

"Hello there - we happen to be lost, can you help us out?" They were certainly aware that he was a foreigner to Hungary and most likely didn't know his way around, but asked him the question anyways. "We're looking for this one bar..."

* * *

Mathias had let himself walk around a bit in the city, glancing at his watch to keep track of the time, and let his mind wander. It went again to the meeting, to Elizaveta, to the outcome of the events that had occurred, that he had to shake his head to avoid feeling an overload from happening. The Dane had been so lost in his own thoughts that at first he didn't notice the two women approaching him. He snapped out of his daze as one of them spoke, blinking at her.

He smiled sincerely, and shook his head. "I'm sorry, I'd love to help you, but I'm not from around here. Maybe one of the store owners would know. . .?" He glanced over at the various stores lined down the street. His eyes went back to the two Hungarians, and pondered. _I can't possibly look like I'm from around here either. Oh well, they're just lost. . ._

* * *

The second Hungarian then answered him, ignoring the latter comment about questioning others and walked alongside the Nordic, lightly grabbing a hold of his arm. The other girl did the same. "We'll find it together, then!" Without Mathias's approval, the women led him down the sidewalk, their arms stable and hooked onto his; the way they maneuvered around Budapest didn't seem as if they were lost at all, even if the two occasionally said "this way" or "let's make a turn here" to make Mathias believe that they _were_ lost. In a few minutes, the three of them reached a pub, in which the first girl cheered, "We're here! Thank you, sir."

"Would you like to drink with us? I'm sure you've heard about our wine..." Again, they dragged him into the bar, whether or not he wanted to.

* * *

Mathias was about to just go ahead and ask the nearby store owner for the girls, but found his arms soon held captive. He looked from one girl to the other, now a tad bit of worry pricking him in the back of his head. _I need to get back to Elizaveta soon-damn, these girls sure are demanding._ "Listen, ladies, I really can't-" He got cut off as he was dragged along, neither woman letting go of him. Sure, he could have wrestled out of their grasp, but he didn't want to cause a scene, _especially_ if someone figured out that he wasn't one of the ordinary humans.

The Dane tried several other times to get the Hungarians to listen to him, but failed as they maneuvered around. _. . .Are they really lost?_ He was starting to get suspicious. _Maybe I should have just stuck to walking around the CLINIC center. . ._ Mathias was about to try one more time to get away from the women as they reached the pub, but once again was pulled against his will into the bar.

Though it was daytime, no one inside the pub would be able to guess, having a typical nightclub atmosphere. He tried again to slip out of the firm grasp both women had on him. "Yes, I have, and I've already tried it. Now, _please_, let me go. I have an emergency on my hands." His eyes darted around, racking his mind to think of a way to escape.

* * *

After some time, the cover floating over Elizaveta's body was set aside, revealing the light from the late morning shining through the now open blinds. Her eyes temporarily squinted to adjust to the new light settings, then veered over to the doctor, who was closely reading a monitor of what seemed to display her internal organs. He murmured quietly to a second doctor, quickly discussing about her, then returned to Elizaveta to give her an update.

"As we expected - and as usual, there's nothing wrong with your body and it's doing well. However, I do recommend that you take this medication for the next few days, just in case; you won't need too much of it, so one per day should do. Of course, we'll give you extra if you happen to need it." He handed her a small tube of pills, in which the nation happily accepted it. "Your other wounds have already been taken care of and bandaged - you're all set to go." The doctor smiled, then Elizaveta sat up, wearing the same expression to him. "Take care - and don't get out of control."

"Yes, of course; thank you very much." Elizaveta knew what he meant by "getting out of control" - he was mentioning about her dangerous side, her Hunnic one, and she nodded in understanding. Carefully, the now liberated Hungarian slipped off the bed, then patted down her dress as her legs felt a wave of satisfaction from finally being able to stand. _Though...Mathias should be back any time soon._ Hoping that he would be somewhere nearby outside, Elizaveta went out of the room, thanking the nurses for their services, and headed out of the CLINIC.

. . .

"Oh, but we have to repay you for following along with us!" The Hungarians called over a waiter, rapidly speaking in Hungarian to request a few bottles of wine, and then looked back up at the Dane with pleading eyes. "Can you take a drink with us, just for a minute? And we'd like to talk to you to get to know you better..." Though Mathias had tried pulling away from them, they attempted to continue yanking him over - but not too harshly - to the seats in the bar.

* * *

Mathias couldn't believe his luck as he was pulled along once again. _God damn it._ Sure, usually, the Dane wouldn't have minded-after all, both women were attractive, and attractive women plus alcohol would mean a good time. But things were different now-he had Elizaveta. "I don't need any repayment, really." _Especially since you forced me along anyway._ He tried again to get out of their grasp, but it was futile.

Then his brain clicked. They were in a bar. Two women. Both women rushed him in. Both women rushed to order drinks. _. . .Shit._ He knew the trick-they'd get him drunk, get drunk themselves, do who knows what, and expect him to pay. Mathias _again_ tried to politely get out of the situation. "I'd _love_ to stay but I _really_ must be going."

* * *

As the Hungarian revealed herself outside the building, she stood in one spot to scan the area, attempting to hunt down Mathias. If she remained where she was, she figured, maybe he would pass by eventually. After waiting for some seconds, another idea popped into mind. With the memory she had of his slick car, Elizaveta also looked around for the vehicle, since he could _possibly_ be stopping by to do or get something - though she did find it, there was no sign of Mathias around. A small frown curled upon her lips. _I hope he didn't wander too far that he got lost..._ She continued waiting for him for another minute, seeing if he would return sometime within that time frame.

. . .

They, again, were stubborn and persistent, trying to get their ways; one of the two had gently grabbed onto his arm, wearing a puppy dog face and not moving her eyes from his, and murmured childishly, "How about half a minute? Just for a short time, _please_?" The waiter from before also had set down three bottles of wine beside them, expressionless, as if he didn't care that the girls were trying to seduce Mathias into drinking with them and doing whatever they wanted to do. The second girl lightly hoisted him onto a chair, further pressuring him into their shenanigan.

* * *

Mathias let out a frustrated sigh. _Not good not good not good._ He had simply stared at the girl on his arm, trying not to be affected by the very expression that usually could make a man's heart melt. _Don't fall for it!_ Once he was sitting on the chair, he knew he had to act. _But what?_ He couldn't just shove them out of the way and run. They probably would make up a story of how he tried to rape them or abuse them. Mathias squirmed slightly in his seat, and a new idea came to. He finally stopped struggling, sighing again. _Please work._

"Okay, okay. You ladies got me. But I'll feel awfully bad for drinking any of this. . .I have no money on me. I was actually on the way to the bank when the two of you came along."

* * *

Elizaveta released a nervous sigh as nothing really happened; not only did she have Emil on her problem pile, but Mathias had disappeared as well. _Out of all times, it had to be now..._ At first, she panicked slightly from not knowing what to do - but then as she realized that she had his number and could call him, her hopes soared. _He can't deny a phone call coming from his cell phone. None of the nations can, either._ Quickly, the Hun removed her phone from her pocket, frantically scrolling down her list of contacts to find Mathias's - she really should get his number memorized soon - and clicked the send button as she raised the device to her ear, tapping her foot anxiously while it rang.

. . .

To perhaps Mathias's luck, the girls seemed to have fallen for it, as they were too focused on him paying up for their drinks. "Oh," one answered, "well then, I guess you should stop by the bank, then? We'll be waiting." Her voice seemed to chirp and waver in tone in order to try to seduce him, hoping that it would cause him to draw back to the two of them. However, the other girl had come up with yet another idea to trap him with them and gave him an offer.

"But I thought you didn't know your way around here?" She seemed to have caught on with his trick. "I'll show you the way to the bank..."

* * *

Mathias had to refrain from releasing a sigh of relief. However, he almost froze at the second girl's words. _No thank you._ He gave her a genuine smile. "I don't, but there are signs everywhere pointing to ATM machines. I'll be fine, really. I should only be a few minutes." He had a bad feeling that the girl would accompany him anyway, and nearly jumped at the vibration of his phone, which soon sung out a rock song. _Thank goodness. _

"Ah, this is an important call. . .please, excuse me." Before either girl could stop him, he slipped towards the bathroom, as he knew they would follow him otherwise, and looked at his phone. _Elizaveta?_ She must have been done with her check-up and was wondering where he was. The Dane quickly answered it, covering his other ear with a hand. "Eli?"

* * *

The girls _were_ planning to follow him anyways and did for some steps, but once he retreated to the restroom, they sighed and returned to the bar, rather disappointed. However, they made sure to keep an eye on the restroom, in case he tried to escape from them. Foreigners were their target, after all; however, at this rate, Mathias would be too difficult to get, and were just about to give up...yet still had some hope left.

. . .

Elizaveta prayed that she wouldn't hit his voicemail - but once he answered her with her name, she whispered under her breath a "thank god" and raised her voice to its usual volume. "Mathias? I'm good to go now - did you get lost? I'll come and get you if you did." From the background noise on his phone - there was none in the first place, or none of it got picked up by the microphone, so she couldn't tell if he was inside or outside or wherever he was. He, too, sounded rather nervous. As long as he was safe, Elizaveta was happy - but what would make him nervous? She frowned slightly as she rescanned her surroundings, once again trying to find a tall blonde man.

* * *

Mathias made his way into the restroom, closing himself in a stall and leaning against the wall. Thankfully the sounds of the club were muffled here, making it easier for him to both hear and talk. "I'm not quite sure where I am. . .I was just walking down the street and these two girls out of no where came and asked me where some bar was. Before I knew it they dragged me off and now _I can't get rid of them._" He spoke lowly, not wanting anyone else who was in or was to enter the bathroom hear him. "Is this normal around here?" He ran a hand through his hair, letting out a sigh. The Dane was just glad to at least be away from the girls, and was hoping that Elizaveta wouldn't suspect him of anything.

* * *

A frown instantly came upon Elizaveta's face. She knew exactly what he was talking about and was definitely unimpressed. The trick with the girls asking for directions was rather infamous for a while, as women had tried to deceive men into drinking with them and paying up for their beverages because the women had ditched him. After finding out about it some time ago, she had tried to get rid of them. _Apparently it's still practiced today._ She sighed, irritation tinting it. Elizaveta didn't find it difficult to trust Mathias, either; he himself sounded as if he would break his bubble very soon. If she recalled correctly, he wouldn't ever turn serious unless the situation was _that_ bad. One way or another, she had to come.

"No, not really," the Hungarian answered him flatly. "I think I know where you are. Just stay put for a while, alright? I'm getting you out of there." As quickly as she could, Elizaveta strode over to the nearest bar around the CLINIC, hoping that the one in mind was the one Mathias was at. She didn't let the pain of her wounds interfere with her current objectives - there was no way she would let a bit of bleeding get to her so easily.

To her, this seemed to be replaying a certain scene - a scene back in Copenhagen, when three Danes approached her and wondered why she was in Denmark. It all seemed to recur again, but this time, Mathias was the victim. _I guess this compensates for what those guys did to me._

* * *

Mathias was relieved to hear Elizaveta's words, and even more relieved that she seemed to trust him. "Okay, if you say so. . ." He quietly made it out of the stall, and washed his hands, grabbing a paper towel to dry them off, and slipped out of the bathroom. He could see the two girls from where he stood. _So they haven't given up._ Mathias let out a quiet, frustrated sigh, and wondered if he should just stick to that corner, acting busy with the phone. He didn't want to approach the two, and he hoped that Elizaveta _did_ know where he was.

The Dane also didn't like the feeling of being helpless, and that too relying on the Hungarian for help-_especially_ since she was injured. But the male nation knew too well the deceptive trick women could pull, and didn't want to risk getting into a chaotic mess if he did try and get away from them. His mind, too, traveled to the night in Copenhagen. _That was different. They were outright harassing her. These girls. . ._ He glanced at them. _. . .are just plain bitches._

* * *

Elizaveta zipped past several bars, but most of which were empty or had just a few guys hanging around inside. She then though more logically. _What bar would two women go to when they can squander all they want with someone else's money...?_ Her answer: _a high quality one with high quality beer._ Her feet forced her to skip over a number of stores and restaurants, leading her to a window that had a view of the internal structure of the pub. From there, she spotted two women, exchanging words with each other along with bottles of wine sitting in front of them, untouched, and seemed to be impatient for something. Maybe he's in here.

Elizaveta had nearly forgotten that she was still on the line with Mathias, let alone still had her phone up to her ear. "I think I'm here," she murmured rather lowly, entering the bar. She received a glance from the waiter which Elizaveta did not return, and scanned the tables and corners. "Where are you?"

* * *

Mathias waited for Elizaveta, hearing the sound of her walking on the phone, though he himself nearly forgot he had the phone to his ear. From where he stood, he was the door of the pub opening, and soon the voice of the Hungarian. "I'm by the restrooms." At the sight of the nation, the Dane felt a wave of mixed emotions. He was relieved to see her, both for getting him out of the sticky situation he was in as well as that she was walking and seemed to be in normal health.

He decided that it would be strange for him just to stand there, so he left the entryway of the restrooms and zipped over to her, ignoring the girls, hanging up and tucking away the phone, and immediately embraced her in a light hug, not wanting to put unneeded pressure on her wounds.

* * *

_I'm by the restrooms,_ she heard. Her eyes made her way around the pub again, eventually wandering over to her right only to spot Mathias coming over to reunite with her. A smile instantly swept onto her face, though Elizaveta's eyes widened as she saw his arms curl around her body for a gentle embrace, not expecting it. Something seemed to be wrong, but at the same time, nothing was at all. His warmth, and probably his feelings as well, seemed to flow outside of his body for her to absorb - which she absorbed just like a dry sponge would with water. After some time, her eyes shut to further enjoy the presence of the emotions that the two of them shared and returned his hug as she buried her face into his clothes. Unfortunately, as it has been happening for too many times already, their moment was ruined by the two women.

"Welcome back - would you like to join us now?" the Hungarian reinvited apparently to the both of them, giggling. Elizaveta felt a vibe that she wanted her to _assist_ them in getting Mathias to sit down and drink, since they were aware that she was one of them - she _was_ them, really.

As to not offend the Dane, the nation slowly released him and turned to present a glare to the other two, approaching them closely as to intimidate them. They only watched her, not really showing a change in expression or any reaction; however, Elizaveta swiftly raised a hand and shot it across the woman's face, a deadly glare locked onto her face as a loud slap pierced through the air, causing the human's face to snap in the same direction as the country's arm.

"_Get out,_" she hissed.

* * *

Mathias, too, had closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of the woman in his arms. As she buried her face in his clothes, his embrace slightly tightened. Why was such a simple movement making him feel so warm and. . .comfortable? He couldn't even find a proper word for what he felt, something all too new to his senses. However, his eyes opened at the sound of the two girls at the bar. He felt Elizaveta loosen his hold on him, and allowed her to slip out of his arms, watching her.

As she strode to the other women, his eyes widened, He was about to say something when instead he heard a loud _slap_ ring out, causing him to wince slightly. The woman the Hun hit had a red hand print on her cheek. The Dane glanced around, and just as suspected, most acted as if nothing had happened, feeling it some scene typical to bars, though some perked up in interest, wondering if a fight was to start. The bartender watched from a distance, cleaning a glass, eying the trio of girls worriedly.

* * *

The Hungarian woman who received the slap matched Elizaveta's glare, just about to initiate a fight; but before she could even start, her friend - the other woman - murmured alarmingly in their native tongue, which the nation picked up to be, "Wait, she's _Magyarország_ - she can send the police after you if you do something to her." The former glanced at her, processing her words and thinking, then sent another glare to Elizaveta before strolling out of the bar, her friend following closely behind her. The bartender, finding out that they weren't drinking, took back the few wine bottles and stored them away.

Elizaveta heaved out a sigh, then turned back around to Mathias. "I'm sorry about that," she apologized, wearing a rather concerned expression. However, she didn't want him to worry too much about this incident, and moved onto a different topic, smiling as she spoke. "Let's go - we need to get to Brussels." Her hand reached out to his after having put her cell phone away, slipping her fingers between his and lightly grasping onto his hand as she gently urged him to go along with her. _Things like this should really stop happening to us...and I wonder what happened today during the meeting..._ She hoped that Roderich did as she requested and that Emil would be given a punishment for his crime. _He can't get out of that without consequences._

* * *

Mathias watched the girls leave, thankful that they had some sense and knew it best not to mess with the Hun. The others in the pub soon turned back to their own business, interest lost. The Dane returned Elizaveta's smile, willingly allowing his hand to be taken, his fingers wrapping around her hand, and nodded. "Don't worry about it. And yes we do. . ." He looked her up and down. "But first we're going to have to make a stop at your house."

He led her out of the club, remembering which direction he had been dragged from, and set out back to the CLINIC to his car. _The moment we get there. . .we won't be given much rest. It'll be night time anyway. And the meeting will surely start out first thing in the morning with the issue. . ._ Mathias sighed. If what Berwald said was true, he would have to say a thing or two. He looked to Elizaveta. "How are you feeling?"

* * *

She was glad that Mathias decided to set aside what had just happened. _Something as small as that shouldn't be worth pondering about. Nations have many other things to think about._ Elizaveta felt a breeze fly at her as she headed back to the CLINIC, her hand firmly grasping his (though not knowing that she was lightly swaying her arm back and forth), and echoed his words with a hint of surprise in her voice. "My house?" She didn't find a reason for Mathias to go there - but once she remembered him examining her body, she realized that he didn't need to go there, but _she_ did. Elizaveta had been wearing the same clothes for two days and had to get her belongings and pack for Brussels; leaving empty handed would be a bad idea. She nodded energetically. "Oh! Right."

Elizaveta walked along with the Nordic in a short moment of silence, making sure that he was turning at the correct intersections, before answering, "I'm still feeling weaker than usual, but I'll be alright." She took a peek at her arm, twisting her head slightly to view her arm that was bandaged meticulously and neatly. Her head then shifted to glance at her shoulder, where the other wound resided. Both had stopped bleeding long ago, though there was a long numb of pain constantly running through her body. But for someone like her, she could tolerate it well.

She then laughed softly at another realization, deciding to say it out for Mathias to know. "You look over me too well." She wasn't surprised, but she was definitely impressed that someone like him had that skill. He probably got that characteristic when he was around the other Nordics years ago, she assumed, because he had to essentially watch and care for them. _What a brother he is...or father, I should say?_

* * *

The Dane chuckled at the Hungarian's energetic response. He was glad to see that the Hungarian was faring well. _Of course. . .she's strong. She won't let something like this get to her._ He glanced at his hand, his arm being led to sway slightly by hers, and faintly smiled. As they continued to walk, he heard her soft and gentle laughter, his eyes looking to her curiously. As Elizaveta spoke, Mathias grinned sheepishly, and ran his other hand through his hair, looking away.

"Well, I can't help it." It was true, he couldn't. He was, after all, the one often looking over others, priding himself on being the "big brother" of his fellow Nordics. Sure, they got irritated at him a lot of the time for it, but he continued to pester them into good health anyway. He smiled at some memories before snapping out of it, seeing the CLINIC center and his beloved car ahead. As they approached, he slipped out his keys and unlocked it. Mathias opened the door on the passenger side, guiding the injured nation inside, before closing it and running around to get into the driver's seat.

* * *

Elizaveta chuckled as well, wondering how much of an impact Mathias left on his brothers. As she has heard before, they have had their good and bad times, but yet they still remained together, even until today - a true family, she wanted to say. But she still couldn't keep away the feeling that she was stripping the family of one member, like tearing away a piece of..._themselves_...because of the relationship she and Mathias had. Elizaveta liked - perhaps even _wanted_ - the Nordics to remain as a family, the way they are, unchanged, untouched. The Dane seemed to be very happy with them, too; even though Mathias seemed happy with her, even if he said that he willingly spent time alone away from them, she felt that he wasn't as cheerful as he should be with just her around.

She then slid into Mathias's vehicle, once again picking up his habit of opening the door for her (maybe someday, just someday, she'll adapt to it). As she clicked her seatbelt in place, Elizaveta murmured, "You're a natural at it, too. I'm glad you don't need to try, or else you would have been overwhelmed." A smile came upon her face again. "But really - with me, you're going to have to drop that habit." Her voice wasn't demanding, but teasing - though serious - as her eyes narrowed somewhat darkly and her smile turned into a smirk. As nations, they were obviously independent and never relied on each other - and that was and is how it should be, even if she knew Mathias was just there to support her.

* * *

Mathias slid into his own seat, closing his door and starting up the car. As he clicked his own seat belt in place, he looked up at Elizaveta as she spoke. _A natural, huh?_ However, he instantly saw the smirk and her gaze, which he simply returned. The Dane looked back to the front and started driving, waiting till they were out of the parking lot and on the road before he responded.

"Drop the habit? Well, we'll see about that." He chuckled lowly. "If one thing you should have learned about me, it's that I'm the most stubborn person you'll ever meet. I wouldn't get your hopes up." He flashed her a dark grin. He quickly tapped on the GPS screen, which quickly recognized the request to the Hun's home, mapping out the route. Mathias soon drove into the outskirts of the city, and glanced at the time. Then something else occurred to him. "Eli. . .did you make any hotel arrangements?"

* * *

_Most stubborn person you'll ever meet._ She couldn't argue against that. Though she dealt with Gilbert many times, he actually wasn't all that stubborn. Yes, he did rebel a lot, but one threat to him and she could get him running, screaming, and begging for his life. He was too easy. Mathias, on the other hand...he was different. Quite different. _Very_ different. "Just watch me make you lose it," she challenged. How she was going to do that...well, Elizaveta would eventually come up with something.

Her eyes glazed over as she stared out the window, watching them depart her capital. She perked up and gave her attention to Mathias as he questioned her about her hotel room. "No, actually...I had forgotten about that." But, usually, Elizaveta didn't need to book a room, as the Belgian was kind enough to offer her a room in her home, since they were both girls, after all. Then again, there was a sudden change in plans due to Emil, so she may be better off in a hotel room. "I could ask Bella since I usually stay with her during EU meetings nowadays; if she happens to be unavailable, then I'll book a room." Her brain then clicked again - _there he goes again, she thought. He's so concerned about me. I swear that if he's ever my husband-_

Her thoughts immediately snapped off there. She had gone too far.

It was such a pleasing thought, she admitted to herself! However, Elizaveta wasn't too fond of thinking about marriages again. Then she tried to look at the positive aspect of it again, but then failed to stick to one side and gave up, displaying a blank and lost stare out the car's front window.

* * *

Mathias chuckled. _Just watch, hm?_ Knowing the Hungarian, she would do her best to try, but he wouldn't be one to back down easily. As she spoke about accommodations, the Dane nodded. _I forgot. . .we have so few girls that they just stay at Bella's place._ "I'm sure she's available-her house is big enough. Though I guess it wouldn't hurt to give her a call." As he went over the members of the EU in his head, he felt himself being surprised as he named the female nations. _Is that seriously it?_ He glanced to Elizaveta again, noticing her expression. _What's on her mind?_ "You okay?"

He soon saw the Hungarian's house ahead, and easily pulled up and parked in her driveway, shutting off the car. "As much as you'll hate me for it, I'll help you out. I don't want you pulling too much action with those wounds." Mathias got out of the car before she could retort, shutting the door and going to open hers, holding a hand out for her to take to assist her out of the car.

* * *

Elizaveta blinked as the Dane called out to her, straightening up in her seat slightly, and gave a late response. "Oh, uh...yes, I'm fine." _I hope that didn't sound awkward...Mathias wouldn't believe me if it was._ Amazingly, she heard Mathias suggest that she call Bella, so Elizaveta took out her phone again to break the strange atmosphere, passing through her list of contacts until the Belgian's was highlighted. She was just about to hit the 'talk' key until she realized that she may be busy - she _was_ leading the EU meetings at this time, too. Frowning slightly, Elizaveta thought it over, then murmured aloud, more to herself than Mathias, "I'll text her instead. I don't want to interrupt her if she has anything going on right now." Her cell phone's screen then switched over to an empty text message box, and typed away.

She was preoccupied with her phone long enough that they reached her house once she finished. Elizaveta instinctively reached out for the door handle after the car parked, but then her arm paused in midair as her door opened seemingly by itself. She stared up at Mathias from where she sat, her arm still hovering and her eyes locking onto his hand while listening to him, then sighed. "Fine," she approved, though with some reluctance. "But I'm not letting you touch my clothes." After some debate in her head to do so, Elizaveta gently and playfully slapped away his outstretched hand, climbing out of the car using the support of its frame instead. The corners of her lips couldn't help but to twitch into a slight smirk from her action as she walked towards her home.

* * *

_**A/N:**_

_**xNeyu:** I read that, in Hungary, there have been incidents where Hungarian women would try to trick men into drinking with them at bars and then they leave him there so that he has to pay for the drinks. (Amazing, women pulling off something on men in public! That's definitely not common here in America. I think.) So that explains the little scene in this chapter. owo _

_Next chapter should be up in a a day or two...this is catching up fast to where we are currently.  
_


	31. Chapter 30

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 30**

* * *

Mathias retracted his hand as it was slapped away, blinking in surprise at it before looking at Elizaveta as she got out of the car. He stepped back, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow at her. "Okay, your highness. I won't lay a finger on your clothes." He was tempted to anyway, knowing why she told him not to. He closed the door and locked the car before following her into her house. He remembered to take his boots off, and looked around as the house now seemed so familiar to him. How many times had he been there in the past week? Her scent that he had come so accustomed and attracted to overwhelmed him as he walked a bit deeper into the home. _To think I was just here the other day. . ._

* * *

After Mathias entered her home, Elizaveta came in as well and shut the door behind her, removing her own shoes. With some amusement, she watched the Viking explore her house again before telling him, "Make yourself comfortable, if you can't find a way to help me." _Which I hope does happen._ "I'm sure by now, you know where most things are." She led herself up the staircase and into her room, quickly scanning it for her luggage. Rather than retrieving that, she discovered a skinny, magazine like book next to her bed and picked it up, staring at the cover. _...Oh, dammit. Mathias is probably going to find one way or another to get into my room, huh? I can't let him see these doujinshis..._ Her fingers crawled beneath the front page as Elizaveta mindlessly read through a few pages, though immediately tossed it onto the floor and kicked it underneath her bed once she caught herself getting carried away. Nervously, the nation turned to the door to make sure the Dane wasn't watching - and he wasn't, to her luck. _...No, I definitely can't let him see these._ As long as he stayed away from her closet, drawers in her desk, and underneath her bed, she should be fine. Should.

Her luggage wasn't too difficult to find - it was just sitting next to her desk - and Elizaveta set it on her bed, clicking it open. She opened a drawer of her clothes cabinet, neatly packing a few sets of business clothes and casual clothes (and quickly transferring her undergarments and underwear over before Mathias came in), then was once again distracted with something else. Her eyes fell upon the flower from Tivoli, which was still sitting safely next to the window; it looked exactly the way it was when she had put it into a cylindrical container, its shades of red and white still rich in color, its stem still upright and stable. Overall, it seemed to be thriving and glowing proudly under the sunlight. Elizaveta smiled warmly at it, glad that it didn't come even close to withering yet. _It does seem like a strong flower. I wonder when it'll die?_

* * *

The Dane turned to the Hungarian as she spoke, and watched her go up the stairs. "If I can't find a way to help you?" He repeated, and shook his head. He remembered how. . .private...Elizaveta kept her room, and figured he'd let her be there for a couple of minutes before forcing himself in anyway. In the meantime, he took another look around the house from where he stood, wondering if anything of importance was needed. Not being able to come up with anything, he slowly made his way up the stairs, and stood at the doorway to the Hun's room. Mathias first discretely looked in, wondering if he could catch anything, but to his dismay all he saw was the Hungarian looking at something.

He slipped into her room, and came up behind her, matching the direction of her gaze to allow his eyes to fall upon the flower. The Dane blinked once, surprised to see it still there and, even more so, that it still seemed so full of life. He wrapped his arms around the Hungarian from behind, looking over her shoulder, and spoke gently. "Huh, so you actually kept it?"

* * *

Elizaveta squeaked and blushed lightly as she felt something slide around her waist, snapping her head around to look behind her and, of course, at Mathias. Even if she knew that he would come up into her room eventually, she spoke as if she wasn't expecting him, rambling with a couple of stammers, "W-W-What are you d-doing in here?" However, her nerved self relaxed as she placed her eyes on the flower again, though her face was still discolored. Quietly, Elizaveta confessed to him, "Yes, of course I did. I couldn't find myself to get rid of it." Flowers were perhaps one of her weak spots - she probably wouldn't toss out the flower in front of her even when it began wilting after some time. And she always wore one in her hair.

She then turned her head to view her luggage after a moment of silence and realized that Mathias could easily peek into it. Her hand flipped over the cover to hide her clothes and prevent the Dane from trying to satisfy himself by sneaking looks at them. Then the Hun became a little more worried for herself - she rechecked her room for anything that she didn't want the man to come across, though did her best to not look too obvious in doing so. _There's nothing like that out in the open, right?...Okay, I think I'm safe._ Once reassured, Elizaveta attempted to wobble around her room, struggling to walk properly due to Mathias, and reached out to her suitcase sitting idly in front of her closet. "If you trip, I'm going to die from suffocation underneath you," she noted.

* * *

Mathias smirked at the sight of her blush, which only widened from her stammering. He temporarily closed his eyes, inhaling and smelling her hair. It smelled of flowers and something sweet, though the strange smell of a hospital was mixed in and a faint smell of rust, like blood. He opened his eyes again as she confessed about the flower, his smirk turning into a smile. _And to think she even set up a place for it. . . _

The Dane noticed her quickly closing her suitcase, causing a slight smirk to appear on his lips. _Damn. . ._ He was, of course, hoping he could get a peak at her clothing, and glanced around the room quickly just in case the Hungarian might have carelessly left what he was looking for around, but to his dismay once again, he did not. As she wobbled around, Mathias kept his grip on her, following her movements, and laughed at her comment. "I won't trip. Now, if I can't touch your clothing, what _can_ I help with?"

* * *

Elizaveta nearly tripped herself on her way to her closet, though regained her balance before she could tumble over, only causing both of them to jerk forward slightly. She was vaguely amused how he still clung onto her, not really bothered by it. However, she could imagine Eirik or one of the other Nordics getting irritated by him for something like this. _Is that why they avoid him sometimes?_ "Nothing," Elizaveta replied bluntly on purpose, carefully and slowly bending over her upper body to retrieve her suitcase. She had to hide a grimace while doing that, as she felt a tad bit more pain upon her shoulder. "Nothing at all, because I _don't need help_." _If he's going to be stubborn, I may as well be, too. _

Again with caution, the Hungarian straightened back up, then made small steps to her desk, where her computer slept. That, she would never allow Mathias to touch. Not even a look on the screen when it's on. Everything in there - the files, the documents, the..._images_ - were to remain confidential. Elizaveta's eyes only (even Roderich hasn't done any of that, nor does he know about the things she does on there). She gave a dark glare at the closed drawers there, thinking which ones were safe and could be opened. _The first two should be okay...but that last, big one..._

* * *

Mathias continued to follow her motions, even holding onto her after they had been slightly jerked forward, entertained by the fact that she hadn't bothered to tell him to let go of her. He knitted his eyebrows as she spoke, and immediately replied, mimicking her, voice and all. "_I don't need help._ I'm still helping you anyway."

The Dane made steps with her as she approached her desk, his eyes again looking around to see anything interesting. He could feel her slightly tense as she stared at her desk, and raised an eyebrow, curious. "What, does staring at your desk turn it to travel size or something?" Mathias laughed, and finally let go of her, straightening up. He looked towards the entryway to her bathroom, and before she could stop him, he made his way into it. "Fine. I guess I can at least grab your brush and stuff. . ."

* * *

Elizaveta was quite startled by his voice change. She gave him an incredulous look, totally not expecting that out of him, but then let out a hearty, long laugh, even closing her eyes from so much of it. _And I thought I knew him well enough already!_ The Hun figured that she should watch him when he's around his brothers - maybe he'll act even weirder and she'll get more entertainment out of that.

Her hand swooped backwards in an attempt to slap Mathias for his later words, but then ended up flinging the air instead as the Dane released her and moved away. "Yeah, sure, I was _definitely_ trying to do that," Elizaveta replied, chuckling as she played along with his teasing. She then sighed once Mathias ran off to her bathroom, knowing that his stubbornness was getting to him as usual. She didn't bother stopping him and rolled out the first drawer in her desk to get some writing utensils and paper. A yaoi doujinshi sat on top of what she needed.

"...So it wasn't safe," she mumbled to herself, unaware of yet another blush reddening her face. Rather slowly, her hand slipped under the booklet and slid out some blank paper, as well as a pen or two, then placed it in her suitcase while shutting the drawer with her lower back. Whatever else that she needed in the case was in there already ever since the last meeting, so to her luck, the Hungarian didn't have to risk revealing any other of her items lurking in her room. She then set down the briefcase beside her luggage, zipped up the compartment of her bag that contained her clothes, and, while waiting for Mathias to return, shut and locked the door to her room to quickly swap her attire.

* * *

Mathias was slightly surprised that the Hungarian hadn't tried to stop him, but tossed the thought away and looked around her bathroom. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, breathing in the scents of perfumes and lotions. _I'm going to get a headache,_ he thought. But the scents were rather pleasing, and he opened his eyes again as he looked around. Disappointment came upon for the third time as he couldn't see anything he was hoping to catch, and instead shuffled over to her sink to grab both her tooth and hairbrush, along with the toothpaste. He tried to think of what other things girls needed, and saw Elizaveta's make-up bag nearby.

Curious, and glancing once behind him to make sure Elizaveta wasn't around, he opened a couple of the drawers in her bathroom. He found the usual feminine things, and -

He quickly closed the drawer, and shook his head as he picked up the stuff he came in for. _So she really is dirty._ The Dane smirked and glanced once again around the bathroom before turning to head back to her room, though found the door closed. He stared at it for a bit, then as an idea occurred to him, attempted to look through the crack between the door and its frame. _If she catches me, I'm dead. ._ He decided to knock on the door, so that if he could see her approach, he'd quickly straighten back up.

* * *

Elizaveta shuffled through her clothes in her drawers, searching for something to wear. This scene was utterly familiar again. _I may as well be having dj vu._ Her hand took out a casual dress for her to decide upon, but then realized that if they were to leave now, they may make it in time for the meeting. Her mind debated for a while. _...I'll just wear business clothes._ After returning her casual clothes and grabbing formal ones, she pulled off the apron to her maid outfit, unzipped the main part of the dress, and flipped her clothes over her body to remove it. However, Elizaveta paused in the middle of undressing herself as she heard some knocks on the door, turning to look at it.

"Ah, Mathias - mind waiting outside for a moment? I need to change." She wasn't suspecting that he wasn't peeking through a crack to be a peeping tom - or at least she _hoped_ he wasn't - and continued stripping herself, tossing her used clothes in the laundry basket and slipping on a fresher uniform. Her nose detected something strange. _I smell of...hospital, still. I would shower, since it's been two days, but...that can wait until later._ If she could walk around not smelling like too much of dry blood, which was quite likely since the nurses cleaned her, Elizaveta would be satisfied with that alone.

* * *

"Oh, sure." Mathias replied. He could barely make out anything in the crack, but just enough that he could see the Hungarian's back, though he was able to see some of her front when she turned to the door to answer his knock. He watched her half-nude form for a few seconds, then straightened up, smirking in satisfaction. _If she ever finds out, she'll kill me._ But it was worth it to him-her body just seemed _perfect_. Her curves were in all the right places, and even better, of the perfect size. _Okay, snap out of it._ Before his mind could delve into dirty thoughts-though, oh, was it tempting-he took a step backwards from the door. "Woman, how long does it take you to change?" He teased, waiting for her to finally open the door, as he still held her items from the bathroom.

* * *

After fixing her new attire, Elizaveta glared at the door, as if it wasn't there and as if she could see the Dane. She muttered back, "Not too long, you impatient, fidgety child." A smirk crept onto her face. "You know, if a woman is given more time to do whatever she needs to do, she'll give her man a surprise." Simply put, it was worth the wait for the man. Elizaveta knew too well that if a man was waiting for a woman to finish changing, he wouldn't complain about it as long as the girl came out in something...appealing to his eyes - she herself didn't experience that, but she's heard of that far too many times with other couples. Not like business suits would do that, but surely Mathias didn't mind anything _she_ wore.

The Hungarian eventually grabbed her belongings, though again laid her eyes on the door for a moment before coming up to it and unlocking the door, pulling it open. She didn't say a word, nothing like 'I'm ready' or 'let's go'; instead, Elizaveta stared at Mathias's face for a good minute or so, intensely gazing into his eyes as she tried to read his expression, her own eyes dark and eyebrows slightly knit. _He looks...too content with himself._ And that told her something. After that minute, she accusingly muttered, "...You were watching me, weren't you?"

* * *

The Dane laughed quietly at her retort, though stopped at her next few words. He blinked, and raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Give her man a surprise, huh?" _Well, if that's the case, I'll have to learn to become patient._ He let his mind think on the pleasing thought for a while, though was snapped out of his daydreaming as he heard the Hungarian approach the door and fling it open. Mathias was about to say something, though ended up forcing down his words as his eyes met hers. He observed her expression, and returned her gaze.

Her accusation, however, was unexpected-though the Dane felt it shouldn't really have been-and it caused Mathias to blink in surprise. Still, he smirked, eyes narrowing slightly. "Maybe, maybe not."

* * *

Elizaveta continued examining his facial expression with a frown even after his response, though eventually couldn't help but to mirror his smirk. _Oh, Mathias..._ She did want to kill him right now, but resisted doing that and chucked her things at his face for the heck of it - suitcase first for more damage. She wasn't scared if she murdered him from that alone, since Mathias was a Viking, after all. He could handle _anything_, right?

Her feet then strode away, pressing down on the floor harsher than usual, while Elizaveta somewhat angrily (but more amused than anything else, really) spat, "You're worse than _Francis_, I _swear!_" The Hun swiftly descended the stairs and slid her feet into formal high heel shoes, _clipclop_ping out the door and to the Dane's car. _There is no way I'm taking a shower when_ he's _in the house. He'll be begging to be locked in with me, or he'll be the one locking_ me _in. I'm..._ Suddenly, her brain clicked. Her lips twitched into a smile, struggling to suppress it, then nearly out of nowhere, she released a rather feminine laughter, her giggles somewhat high pitched as she leaned the side of her body against the car. _Since when was the last time I had this much fun?_

* * *

Mathias let out a yelp as he was hit with her things, falling to the ground. "_OW!_" He groaned, his hands pawing at the floor before shoving the Hungarian's suitcase and the such off of him. _That. . is going to leave a bruise, if not several._ He shook his head and rubbed it, glaring at the staircase. Yet, the Dane couldn't help but smirk again. _Well, she took that better than I thought she would._ And oh, was it worth it. He got himself up on his feet, and put the items he had retrieved from the bathroom into her suitcase before lugging her things down the stair and to the car.

He froze at hearing her laughter, and he found himself staring at her for a bit, actually taking in what she was wearing. His eyes lingered on her legs before moving again to put her stuff in the trunk of his car. "Glad to know you at least have some sense of humor, as dark as it is." He shut the cover of the trunk, dusting off his hands, and shot her a look. "And that really hurt, by the way."

* * *

Elizaveta wiped her eyes of any tears forming from her laughter, calming down after he had given her a look. She then smiled determinedly at him, answering, "Unfortunately, I'm not sorry. You deserved that." The Hun playfully walked up to Mathias, swinging up her legs slightly after each step, and chuckled as she questioned him ominously, her eyes narrowing, "What, does the little Viking need a kiss to make it all better~?" Without needing an answer from him, Elizaveta raised her feet to her toes, bending up to place a kiss on his cheek, and quickly retreated to the passenger seat, leaving Mathias before he could do anything. She didn't know what was going on with her, what she was doing, and why she was doing these strange things - if something, Mathias was affecting her...not in a bad (but not necessarily good) way. Whatever it was, Elizaveta couldn't care less; it had been a while since she enjoyed herself.

* * *

Before Mathias could retort, he felt her soft lips on his skin, causing him to shut his mouth. He was a bit surprised by her act, and watched her as she retreated, unfortunately too quickly for him to grab a hold of her. ". . .Heh." He shook his head and got himself into the driver's seat, inserting the key and starting up the car. He mumbled quite childishly: "I'd need more kisses than that to make up for it." He put on his seatbelt and looked at her again, showing a rather unamused expression. "And I personally think it's unfair-what, if we were switched, you wouldn't be trying to get a peak of me? Oh wait, you already have." He smirked, remembering the time in Copenhagen in the store. He set the GPS system to head to Brussels, and began driving.

* * *

Elizaveta kept an eye on him, watching him get into and start up the car as she put on a smug face. _And he still seems happy._ She supposed that it was better than him being upset or so blushy (though, she would have loved to see him like that). The Hun frowned slightly at his words, but then her lips spread into a smirk. "I think one will do," she teased while buckling herself to the seat, refusing to satisfy the greedy man. "And _hey_ - you're talking about that time in Copenhagen, aren't you? You practically _invited_ me to come in. This, on the other hand - you peeked at me like a stalker and I didn't invite you, now did I?" The memories of their time in his capital immediately swarmed her brain again: the time Mathias removed his clothes and showed his fine, muscular build that obviously proved his potential strength, his drop-dead handsome appearance after putting on the store's clothing, and lastly, when the Dane pretended to be a doll...

That distracted her for some time, though eventually, she snickered quietly, "You're just a greedy Viking child that needs a toy to play with."

* * *

Mathias glanced at her every so often as she spoke, catching her expressions. _Stalker? Like she's one to talk. . ._ He couldn't help but glance once down at her body, though tried his best _not_ to be distracted. "Okay, you may have a point- - -but don't tell me you didn't look that morning at your house." He teased her, shaking his head. However, at her snicker and comment, the Dane smirked darkly himself. _What a nice way of putting it._ "Hmm, maybe I am. But you just basically entitled yourself as being a toy. So yes, this 'Viking child' needs a toy to play with. And looks like he found the perfect one." Mathias flashed her a mischievous grin. He was too amused by this, for sure, but_. . .It's like a game between us._

* * *

Elizaveta stared at the road ahead of her as she listened to him, though noticed at some point of time, the car started veering towards the left. She pressured her eyebrows slightly at that, but relaxed as the car realigned itself. _He'd better not crash anytime soon._ Then Mathias reminded her of the morning at her own home - an image popped up into her head and replayed the scene when she caught the Nordic in the guestroom, asleep and shirtless. Her nose twitched uneasily; she had forgotten that she stole a picture of him. "Watch you change, no, I didn't," she answered truthfully without hesitation, however unable to hold back a smirk, "but you sleeping..." The Hungarian trailed off, only giggling quietly to herself. _He's probably going to do something to me soon after saying that._

Elizaveta then raised an eyebrow with interest, entertained with the fact that Mathias decided to continue sporting. Again, the nation laughed, rather evilly. "I'm flattered," she admitted, her eyes narrowing as they shifted to view the Dane. "But you do know that this toy of yours won't abide to all of your wishes, right?"

* * *

_'But you sleeping. . .'? I knew it._ Mathias at this point had come to a stop sign. . .on a very empty road. He took advantage to stop the car to turn to the Hungarian, discretely putting the car in park, his eyes containing a devilish glint. He couldn't help but wonder why she was making him feel this certain. . ._rush_ throughout his body. "Oh? Well, I don't like it when my toys don't work the way I want them to." He leaned towards her, and traced finger from her collarbone to under her chin. "After all, no one wants to play with a malfunctioning or broken toy, am I right?" He couldn't help it-she was right there, giving him that look that made shivers run down his spine, and as if something grabbed him, he planted a passionate kiss on her lips, enjoying her sweet taste. They didn't exactly have time for this, but the Dane felt it was worth it, and finally parted his lips from hers, his eyes narrowed as he tried to read her expression.

* * *

Elizaveta had glued a smirk onto her face for a while, though it broke into a frown as she noticed that Mathias had halted the car at a stop sign longer than usual. She turned to him as he spoke, her eyes automatically locking into his dark ones and narrowing, then found her head bending backwards as she felt a finger slide smoothly up her neck and inhaling more of his scent than before. _...Sooner than I expected,_ the Hungarian thought with amusement. Her mouth parted slightly to speak, but before a single noise could come out of her, Mathias had trapped her into a kiss, its power surprising her. However, Elizaveta wasn't too startled by it, returning the same amount of force in the kiss while her blood once again yearned for more from him. Of course, she was rather disappointed when his lips released hers rather early, but ended up gazing at his eyes, distracted from her lust. The Hun slowly and lowly replied, "...Then it sounds like this toy isn't 'perfect' for you. Why don't you get rid of it?"

* * *

Mathias snickered lowly, his eyes still locked in the intense and intimate gaze with the Hun. The fact that she had kissed back, and her expression-he knew she enjoyed it. "Get rid of it?" His eyes searched hers, and a hand came up to twirl a lock of her hair between his fingers. "Oh, but what would the fun be in that? Besides. . ." He brought his lips close to hers again, breathing on them as he continued. "I like a challenge." He licked her lips before again locking her in a kiss, slightly more powerful than the previous one, his hands caressing her face.

The lust that had built up in him was letting itself out, though it might have not been the best time. However, the Viking let his desire take over, losing himself in the Hungarian's scent and taste. _Besides, when will be the next time we can do this? Everything will be too serious at the meeting._ At this point, he knew he was making excuses, but that didn't matter. All that was important to him right now was the moment he was sharing with Elizaveta, in that car, on an empty road and intersection, with kilometers still to go to reach their destination.

* * *

Elizaveta shivered from his lick, silently exhaling a thin stream of air from her lips. She could foretell that he was going to kiss her again - and he did - which caused her heart to accelerate. Her eyes gently shut as she was carried away with the kiss, her own hands lightly curling around and masking his wrists, her mouth again matching the Dane's strength in the kiss without any problem; the Hun was too absorbed with Mathias and in her own thoughts to realize that they were still in the middle of the street. Elizaveta couldn't remember a time when she was _this_ desperate for someone. Or was it because she was physically attracted to him? _No,_ she told herself. _There are definitely character qualities that made me fall for him._

Then her good side had to kick in and break off the kiss after some while, much against her will. She bent away slowly, taking a moment to recover her breath and think properly. Once Elizaveta was decently aware of herself and her surroundings, her eyes constantly flashed between the road, Mathias's eyes, and his lips. "'Like a challenge'..." Elizaveta echoed, her voice nearly giving out that she wanted even more - wanted _him_, as a smirk grew on her face. "That is certainly the Viking attitude."

* * *

Mathias had completely lost himself in the kiss, his heart beating fast and a charge of energy flowing through him. Her sweet taste intoxicated him, flowing through his body, only further fueling his lust. He wasn't sure how long they were like that for-it seemed forever-but it also seemed to end all too soon when she parted his lips. He slowly opened his eyes to look at her, himself trying to regain his breath. It took every bit of resistance in his body to prevent him to do anything more to her, as much as he wished to. He smirked, and let out a deep and low snicker. "What else do you expect?" He forced himself to look in the rear-view mirror, and in the distance he could see a car approaching. _Damn it. I guess this'll just have to wait._ He reluctantly put the car out of park, and flashed the Hungarian a sly grin.

"I guess you're in luck for now. But don't think I'll give up on trying to fix my toy." As the car behind them came closer, the Dane began driving again, quickly picking up speed. He looked in the mirror again, almost as if he was glaring at the other driver. _Had to ruin the moment._

* * *

Elizaveta chuckled lowly, murmuring to the Dane, "Nothing else, I suppose." At this point, her eyes could not move off of him, no matter how many times she tried veering them away; they would always turn back to Mathias, pleased with him being in their sight. Perhaps for the better of her, Elizaveta eventually snapped out of it, her mind clicking as the gears to the car did, and stared out at the road once again. She was disappointed once more, of course, but she knew that she had to be thankful for the car coming up behind them. Her back rested against the seat while Mathias drove off, releasing a silent sigh. _There's no rush for this,_ the Hungarian thought, trying to cheer herself up. Wanting to continue their teasing, Elizaveta murmured back, "...Would you keep trying if it took you years...or even longer?"

* * *

Mathias forced himself to keep his eyes on the road, picking up speed as they continued on their way to Brussels. The Dane chuckled briefly, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, and murmured back: "Yes. I'm not one to give up so easily." He paused. "Too stupid to give up, is what the others like to tell me." He smiled foolishly at the thought, knowing that his brothers had given up trying to correct his stubborn ways. He glanced at the time, picking up more speed, and couldn't resist stealing a glance of Elizaveta as well. Mathias mentally punched himself. _Focus, idiot._ He concentrated again at the road, relaxing his body as he also rested against his seat. He murmured quietly: "I think the real question is, would the toy be willing to stick around and last that long."

* * *

Elizaveta laughed quietly to herself. _Of course, Mathias,_ she mentally replied to him. It was no surprise to her that he wouldn't let her go. She, however, didn't see it as something bad - rather, she interpreted his teasing to be something that showed his commitment and dedication to her. It was rather far to take it that way, but Elizaveta felt that their relationship was strong enough that she could deduct that out of his words. Out of the corner of her eyes, she caught Mathias peeking at her and simply smiled. To his questioning, the smile mutated into a smirk as Elizaveta answered with reasoning, "The toy will always be there unless the child wants to dispose of it, or..." She paused to chuckle again; her eyelids shut slightly to narrow her eyes, which had shifted to her left to watch the driver. "...if the child doesn't take 'care' of the toy well enough to the point where it can longer be played with. Toys don't have the choice to go wherever they want to."

* * *

"Heh." Mathias slightly shook his head, a smirk playing on his lips. "Well then, I suppose the child should be taking the best care he can of that toy." He paused as he made a turn. "After all, a child with no toys is a lonely one." _A very lonely one._ The Dane sighed, once again glancing at the time. His eyes then traveled to the sky, which was darkening, leaving only a few minutes till they would be blanketed with the night. He took note that the car ride back to Brussels seemed faster than when he was rushing down to see Elizaveta. _Probably because she's now here with me. . ._ He gave a little smile at the thought, glancing at the Hungarian once again. _No, surely because she is._

...

"What a time to get the presidency. . ." The Belgian sighed as she entered her home, throwing off her high heels and rubbing her feet. "Antonio, the lucky bastard. . just managed to hand it over to me before having to deal with this. . .am I right, Milena?" The Czech nation followed in after the Belgian, shaking her head with a sigh. "Don't get me started. . ."

Bella gave her a small smile before stretching, and then heard her phone vibrate. It had been doing that several times for the past couple of hours, reminding her that she had a message waiting. However with all the chaos, she wasn't able to check it until this late hour. She took out the phone, and grinned to see who sent it. "It's from Liz!" Bella quickly opened it, her eyes scanning over the message, and quickly sent a reply.

_Liz!  
Glad to hear you're okay and up and running again. And of course you can stay at my place! You always do, after all. Oh, do we have lots to talk about.  
See you soon! :3_

Bella waited for her phone to confirm it had sent the message, and then went off to prepare some food.

* * *

"He should be," Elizaveta agreed readily. "And don't worry, the Viking child isn't lonely; as you said, he has a toy that he'll be distracted with and be busy 'fixing', right?" A buzz against her body then jolted her slightly, causing her back to straighten as Elizaveta dug out her cell phone from her pants. She probably looked more business-like than before with the device in her hand. The Hun read the words displayed in a new text message she received from the Belgian and grinned with delight.

"Ah, Bella finally answered," Elizaveta chirped, her tone of voice and demeanor suddenly bright. "It looks like I can stay at her house - you're staying at a hotel nearby, right?" With some hope (though also with some uncertainty), she wanted to visit Mathias on some nights just to check up on him, or possibly ask to spend time with the Dane. _Also, if Bella just texted me, it sounds like they're done with the meeting for today,_ she realized and frowned, squeezing her phone into her pocket. _I dressed formally without needing to. It's not a big deal, though - not like Emil...sounds like Bella and I will be talking about him when I get to her house, too._

* * *

"Right." Mathias smiled, glancing at the Hungarian as he heard the buzz of her phone. _That's probably Bella. . ._ When Elizaveta spoke, the Dane's thoughts were confirmed. He let out a small and quiet laugh, nodding. "Yes. . .it's pretty close by to her place, I believe. Her place in Brussels is in the city, after all." He tried to map it out in his head, having visited the Belgian's residence before, and nodded. _Though, her asking. . ._ His smile widened. "Though that means I'll probably kidnap you at some point." He teased, showing her his smile.

Eventually, Mathias saw a sign pointing out that Brussels lied ahead. He picked up on his speed, again looking at the time. "Looks like my speeding helped. . .we're here several hours ahead of time if I had followed the law." He laughed, though nervously looked in the rear-view mirror to check for cops. _I should be okay. . ._ The GPS spoke up, the feminine electronic voice briefly crackling: "Destination ahead." It pointed out the next several turns, to which Mathias followed, slowing his speed down to the legal limit, and soon found himself looking up at a large building. "Destination reached." Mathias parallel parked-_man, I hate doing this_-and turned off the car. "Well, princess, we're here. . .Bella's flat is on the seventh floor, right?"

* * *

"_Kidnap_ me?" Elizaveta repeated, nearly chortling out the verb due to laughter. It wasn't just amusing to hear that from him, but also heartwarming, since she never felt so..._wanted_ before...despite how creepy it sounded. Still, it meant that it would be easier for them to spend more time together. There really wasn't anything else she could want. "I would like to watch you do that." Picturing the Dane trying to jump over walls and other obstacles to get to her was entertaining. Though, the image in her mind somehow turned him into a knight or a villain attempting to reach a princess, swinging his sword at the guards and slaying a Belgian dragon and having to climb to the top of the castle to steal her and - _Alright, that's too far, Elizaveta._

The Hungarian had to kick herself back into reality before her creativity got carried away. She observed the darkened city around her, recognizing it to be Brussels. _Several hours early...wait, h-he was speeding?_ A shiver waved down her body like an electricity jolt, then released a sigh to ease her nerves. Elizaveta was more grateful when Mathias decided to follow the speed limits, and soon witnessed the same building Mathias laid his eyes upon. "That's right," she answered, slipping out of the vehicle and breathing in the foreign air, which never bothered her anyways. (The nations eventually had to adapt to each others' scents sooner or later.) Elizaveta then shut the door and circled around the car to get to its trunk. "...Do you have a dinner? I may end up eating with Bella."

* * *

Mathias also slipped out of the car, stretching his arms above his head. He was starting to feel the earlier nuisance in his neck and back again. He rubbed the lower portion of his back as he walked to the trunk, hitting a button on the key remote to open it. As he took out Elizaveta's belongings, he nodded. "Yeah, don't worry about me. I've got food back at the hotel." _A day old but. . who cares. As long as Valdi didn't eat it. . .or give it to his damn puffin._ The Dane closed the trunk, and went ahead to enter the upscale condominium, gesturing for the Hungarian to follow. "And remember, no putting strain on those arms. . .you don't want to risk the stitches falling apart before your wounds can even fully heal." He shuffled slightly to hit the elevator 'up' button with a hand.

Soon, the elevator rang out a chime, and the doors smoothly opened to an empty box. Mathias got in, waited for the Hun to follow, and hit the circle with a fancily engraved '7'. He leaned against the back railing of the elevator, sighing. "I won't be surprised if we'll end up here for a whole week." _Not that I mind. . ._ He glanced at Elizaveta. _...just means more time to spend with her._ His thoughts were interrupted at another chime of the elevator. A smooth female voice rang out: "_Zeven Floor._ Floor Seven". The doors glided apart, and the Viking allowed the Hun to exit before following after her, walking down the hall till they reached the end. Before either of them could ring the bell or knock, the door flew open.

"Liz! Mathias! It's so good to see you~!" The Belgian squealed, giving the Dane a quick hug before turning to Elizaveta, at first hesitant, her eyes searching for the wounds. "I'm so glad you're okay! Had me worried sick." She carefully slipped her arms around the Hungarian's body, avoiding her arms, giving her a tight embrace. "Come in, come in~" Bella waved for the two to follow after her. "Mathias, you can put down the stuff right over there-" She pointed to a wall. He did as instructed, and straightened up to gaze around the flat. It was urban at its best-large windows, one wall being nothing but a large expanse of glass, and contemporary and chic furniture. "Milena is in the shower right now. . ." Bella scurried over to the kitchen, and looked up. "Mathias, you'll be staying for dinner, won't you?"

The Dane raised his hands and shook his head, laughing. "Thanks for the invite, but I've got food waiting. . .besides, Valdi will get pissed at me if I don't get back."

* * *

Elizaveta nodded as well, blankly watching Mathias pull out her belongings from the back of the car as she was distracted by his words. Yes, she was weak, especially around the areas where she was shot, but it didn't mean she couldn't carry anything. However, the Dane did have a point to not stress her arms - no matter how much she wanted to be stubborn and snatch her luggage from his hands - and she allowed him to hold them until they went inside Bella's home. The Hun followed closely behind him, unconsciously sliding her hand around his arm with a light hold as they walked into the building and eventually the elevator.

She quietly listened to the various melodic noises the elevator made, as well as the music playing softly in the background while it took them to the seventh floor. A sigh escaped from her body when Mathias mentioned about their stay in Brussels - Elizaveta would have to deal with Emil, which was something she didn't want to do...but inevitably had to. The last thing she wanted during a meeting was another argument with him, though, again, she had Mathias, who could calm her down. "I wouldn't be, either," she murmured lowly and rather gravely. When the doors welcomed them to the seventh floor, Elizaveta glanced at the Dane and saw that he wanted her to go ahead of him, then did so; however, she nearly shrieked as the Belgian shot out of the room, startled by her excitement.

"H-Hello, Bella!" Elizaveta stammered slightly with a small smile, glad that she was eager to see them. Her arms happily returned her hug, but felt a bit of pain enter her again. She didn't react to it. "You really shouldn't be worried - you know that I'm stronger than that!" Upon the release of their embrace, the Hungarian trailed behind Bella into her home, twirling around inside to expose herself of the interior again after not having visited in so long.

Her attention turned back to Bella as Milena was brought up, and immediately began pondering about her. Elizaveta and Milena, the Czech, had a long history together, which included both Roderich and Emil; she was actually rather glad that she was in the shower at the moment, as she wasn't looking forward to chatting with her. Ever since the last World War, their relations have been tense, especially since she was still close to the Slovak. Now that the EU had brought up the issue between the Hungarian and Emil, Elizaveta knew that Milena would have something to say.

As she picked up Mathias's voice, his words processed through her brain too, and approached the Dane, peering up at him and frowning. The only reason she would frown was - of course - that he had to separate from her. Once again, Elizaveta mentally scolded herself to grow up. She questioned him curiously and quietly, hoping that Bella wouldn't hear her, "So you'll be leaving now, Mathias?"

* * *

The Belgian pouted, hands on her hips. "If you say so. . ." She trailed off, watching the Hungarian. A smile appeared on Bella's lips. _Oh, I won't let her hear the end of this..._ The Dane, on the other hand, sighed, and nodded, also lowering his voice. "Yes. . .best you get some rest." He smiled at her, and bent in to kiss her cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow morning. Try not to stress out, okay?" He gave her another smile before returning to the entryway of the Belgian's residence, the door still open. "Thanks, Bella. I'll see you all tomorrow then." He gave a little salute and left, closing the door.

* * *

_**A/N:**_

_**xNeyu**: Nnn, I gave some significance to the flower from Tivoli. I'm not going to explain it, because I think it's straightforward...maybe it isn't now, but it probably will be in later chapters. owo_

_**Amerzt: **You'll notice that I picked up the roles of Belgium/Bella (we're using another fanon name) and Czechia/Milena, yet another OC! I designed her (as xNeyu designed Slovakia). She'll be having more of an appearance in following chapters. Again, our OCs serve to drive on the RP. :'D _

_And at this time in the RP, Belgium had taken over the presidency from Spain...so yeah, in case you didn't get what Belgium was talking about. XD  
ALSO keep forgetting to mention...we got more accurate as we moved on in the RP...so yeah, though in the beginning they...walked all that distance, we decided to make it more realistic and yeah. XD Sorry about that._

_Thanks again to all our lovely readers! And we'd love reviews~  
_


	32. Chapter 31

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 31**

* * *

Bella didn't even have time to see the Dane out, but managed to call out."Okay! Bye Mathias~!" She waited for the door to close, and then turned to the Hungarian, arms crossed, and a look of utter amusement on her face. "So Liz. . .something you want to share?" Her voice was teasing as she approached Elizaveta. _It was a surprise when Roderich told us that Mathias was with her. . .I didn't suspect much but oh does this change things. _

...

The Dane soon reached the lobby of the building and walked out to his car, taking a moment to breath in the fresh, outside air. _Not being able to smell her. . .it feels so...strange._ He shook his head. _Snap out of it._ He slid into his car and drove off back to the hotel, trying his best to keep his mind off of the Hungarian. That, of course, had basically become impossible to do. _I will end up kidnapping her from Bella at this rate. ._ In a couple of turns he had reached his temporary residence. He dropped the keys in one of the guard's hands, allowing them to park it, and made his way up to his room.

Once he reached, he took out his key card, but hesitated. _I guess I should knock first, in case Valdi is taking liberty of having the room to himself. . ._ He put the card away for the moment, and gave a couple of loud knocks. "Valdi? It's Mathias. I'm back."

* * *

Elizaveta let out another stream of air from her lips as Mathias confirmed his departure, though did her best to not complain. She struggled to nod once, looking up at the Dane as he placed a kiss on her cheek, murmuring, "Okay, I'll try not to. Good night." Her eyes never left him as he strode out of the house, her heart unable to help but to ache longingly, until Mathias was no longer in her sight.

She felt blood rush up to her face, reddening it, when Bella had asked her that question. Her posture straightened out slightly before twisting her head to face the other approaching nation. _If I try to avoid this, she'll probably keep nagging me anyways..._ "A-Ah...well, it can't be helped," Elizaveta murmured, smiling shyly. Before she began, the Hungarian settled down in a comfortable seat nearby. "It's a long story..." She retold the events of the past week or so, though not too much in detail - just the generalized version of when she and the Dane meet each other, how they got together, and Roderich's involvement. The Hungarian would often avert her eyes and fumble around here and there like a teenager would, but otherwise, tried to keep her maturity in tact with proper conversation etiquette. "...It's difficult to believe that I've fallen for him."

...

Valdimar had been cleaning up after himself after taking a short shower, rubbing his head of the water remaining in his blonde-white hair. He glanced at the door as he heard a knock, thinking that it could have been one of the Nordics aside from Mathias, but his voice proved him otherwise. "Welcome back," the Icelandic nation greeted, opening the door to reveal himself in blue shorts and a simple white shirt. His puffin was standing beside his foot, a piece of fish dangling from its beak as it leaned its head back to stare up at the Dane with its tiny bead eyes. "Didn't think you'd ever come back." _...And you smell of Elizaveta, again. _

"Roderich came by earlier, by the way. He was wondering if you came back yet, but just wanted to pass to you his thanks." Valdimar found it rather strange for Roderich to stop by - he was even reluctant to open the door, as he disliked the aristocrat for what he had done to Mathias - but it was good enough to him that the Austrian was thanking him for...whatever kind deed (_wow, never imagined that_ Mathias _would do that_) he did.

* * *

Bella giggled as the Hungarian's face became discolored. _Liz? Blushing? Over_ Mathias? She smiled and sat down across from Elizaveta, allowing herself to sink into the sofa as she listened to her explain how the relationship developed. _Wow. . .how cute. . .fall for each other in less than a week? It's like out of a romance film or something!_ She couldn't help but smile as she saw the Hun fidget, trying to keep herself from squealing and just suffocating the Hungarian in a hug.

When Elizaveta finished, the Belgian shook her head, leaning forward towards her. "Oh, Liz-I'm happy for you! And it seems like he really cares about you." She giggled. "And hey, isn't that how these things work? Don't realize what's going on and _BAM_-" Bella clapped her hands together forcefully. "-next thing you know you're head over heels. Well, that's how it happens in the books anyway." She waved a hand in the air, dismissing the thought. "But really, I'm glad you're okay-and Mathias seems to have taken good care of you."

As if on cue, Milena walked out of hall, wearing a bathrobe and a towel around her shoulders. Her usual brown hair with its streaks of blond framed her face, wavy despite being damp. Her eyes, a mix of seagreen and gray, rested on the Hungarian. She stiffened, quietly gulping. She immediately inspected her, knowing that she had been shot in either arm. The history the two shared was long, complex, and difficult, especially with the Hungarian's hatred towards the Slovak, her significant other. Though the two female nations were mostly on good terms now, it was moments and events like these that could suddenly turn that relationship sour.

"Oh, hello Elizaveta. I'm glad you're okay." She approached the other two nations, shaking her head, and giving the Hun a sincere, apologetic look. "I'm so sorry about what happened."

...

Mathias waited for the Icelander to open the door, looking at him, glancing once at the puffin. "Thanks. And what, were you celebrating at the idea?" He laughed, and made his way into the room, though stiffened at the mention of the Austrian. _Thank me. . ._ "Oh, okay." The Dane plopped onto his bed, sighing, and staring at the ceiling. "Gah. . .I'm starving. Did you keep the food we brought, or did you have that too?" His eyes wandered to the small fridge in the room, a hand going to his stomach.

* * *

Happy for her? Elizaveta's heart burst with happiness - so other nations were approving of their relationship! Of course, the girls seemed alright with it, but hopefully Roderich was managing as well. Perhaps it would turn out smoother than she thought. "He cares too much about me," she admitted, grinning. _With the entire 'I'll open the door for you' and 'carry your stuff' deal, surely he does._ "And - in books? Really, Bella, I wouldn't make that comparison...but, yes, I'm very happy to be with him."

Her body tensed as she heard a familiar, yet at the same time, rather different voice. Elizaveta could never get used to it - used to the Czech's voice that had once been so young, high pitched, and innocent, but now had matured. Milena was previously under her care, though was currently independent from any other nation's control, particularly hers and Roderich's. The influence that Emil had upon Milena wasn't to her approval, as he had corrupted her greatly - personality and character wise - and thus, Milena wasn't the person she knew any longer. Elizaveta's dislike was well masked by her tone of voice, which replied Milena gently, "Hello, Milena. Thank you - and don't apologize. It's not your fault."

...

"No, I wasn't." Valdimar was honest - though, Mathias's idea wasn't too bad. "You're the kind of person to ditch out on things like these, is all." He especially recalled their younger days, when they were still children; Mathias hadn't learned between good and bad nor right and wrong, and would do whatever he wanted to do childishly. The Icelander wouldn't be surprised to see him skip out again. "And I kept the food - it's in the fridge." His blue eyes wandered over to the furniture, thinking of something to say. Valdimar was able to come up with something to converse about, and quickly at that.

"Quite a bit went on during the meeting," he reported, deciding to not talk about Elizaveta. _If he's here, I'm guessing she's alright._ "Berwald told us that he texted you about the extension - but aside from that, the EU was talking about Emil all day." Valdimar shook his head lightly, knitting his eyebrows with some frustration. "We were pretty much wondering what to do with him, and some got into a debate if Elizaveta should be punished as well. Emil wouldn't really talk about it."

* * *

Before Bella could reply, Milena had entered, causing her to shut her mouth. She fidgeted slightly where she sat. _Oh man. . .I almost forgot. I hope the two don't start anything._ Deciding it might be best if the two were left to talk, she quickly got up and went into the kitchen. "I'll get dinner finished up. Make yourself at home~!" The Belgian busied herself, taking out plates and the such, though eavesdropped on the other two. She was, after all, holding the Presidency, and so it was best that she paid attention.

The Czech nation sighed, sitting down where the Belgian had just left, one leg crossed over the other as she leaned back, a hand brushing through her hair. "I know, but. . ." Milena frowned slightly. _I don't want to make things tense right now._ "...still. I had a long talk with Emil about it." She closed her eyes, rubbing her temples with one hand. "Let's just say we'll probably make way more progress tomorrow than we did today in the meeting."

...

Mathias dragged himself off the bed to the fridge, taking out the uneaten dinner from the night he had dashed to Budapest, and listened to the Icelander as he shoved the food in the microwave, waiting for it to heat up. "Figures." He soon took the food out and sat down on the bed, eating. _Well, I guess stuff can actually happen now that Elizaveta will be there as well. . ._ After swallowing a mouthful, he replied: "Huh, so is that really all? I guess the majority of the time was spent just trying to understand. . .I mean, it was a pretty drastic move on Emil's part."

He shook his head, wondering about the Slovak. "Bella looked really tired, that's for sure. I could see it in her eyes." He sighed, and had managed to quickly polish off his meal, and patted his stomach with content. "The best thing to do is probably get Vash and Lili in on a video-conference or something. . .they were the only witnesses, I think."

* * *

Elizaveta bounced in her seat slightly in reaction to Bella's sudden outburst, but only stared off somewhat worriedly after her as she scurried off to dinner. _...It truly makes all the worse to leave the two of us alone,_ she thought, believing that if the Belgian hung around, the atmosphere would be less tense. Then again, Bella would probably feel awkward just sitting there. Again, she sighed, putting up with the adult life she somehow was no longer used to, and faced Milena, listening intently before replying.

"We both know him well. He can have a short temper and do unpredictable things when he's like that." She fell silent to ponder about the situation. "Emil wasn't doing his job as a nation to prevent those sorts of things from happening and had to be spoken with; obviously, he didn't bother attempting to resolve anything and made the situation even worse. As for the meeting, I would like to settle this by tomorrow." The other European nations most likely didn't want to chatter about her and Emil's problem for another day, either. There were many other issues to deal with.

...

The Icelander nodded, watching his pet swiftly gobble down its food as he sat down on the edge of a bed. "From what I've heard, it sounds like Emil's to blame for. Roderich couldn't say too much about what happened, since he could only say what Vash told him. We probably do have to request a video conference with him and Lili..." His blue eyes narrowed as he became lost in thought, a curled hand covering his mouth as a finger lightly rubbed his lower face. "Emil looked clean - no injuries, bruises, limping, nothing. That means Elizaveta didn't do anything to him physically, so she might get away without a punishment. Doesn't mean she won't be the one talking tomorrow, though..."

Then something struck Valdimar - he turned his head to face the Dane, murmuring, "Everyone was curious about why _you_ were with Elizaveta, too. Roderich told them because he was pressured to, but didn't say that you two were together, though. In my opinion, I think that it would be pretty obvious, but that's most likely only because I already knew."

* * *

Milena opened her eyes and listened to the Hungarian, and bit her lip to prevent making a retort-_No. That can be saved for tomorrow._ Still, the Czech narrowed her eyes, staring directly into the Hun's deep green ones, almost defiantly. "Yes, he can be rather short tempered." _As if you're not._ "I believe we can discuss more things in detail at the meeting." Milena had to try her best to not come to the Slovak's defense right then and there-if the three female nations were going to be spending several nights under the same roof, that would only spell disaster.

She uncrossed her long, slender legs and stood up. "I'm going to go get into some clothes. Bella, do you need any help?" The Czech gladly turned her attention away from Elizaveta, looking to the Belgian, who simply shook her head and waved a hand in the air. "Oh, no, no. I'm fine-you go ahead. Dinner should be ready soon." Milena nodded and quickly but gracefully walked back into the hall to her temporary room.

...

Mathias was about to reply to the Icelander's comment on Emil and Elizaveta, but shut his mouth as he spoke again. ". . .Oh." A small smile adorned his lips as he allowed himself to fall back on the bed, hands behind his head. "I'm sure they were curious. Bella gave me this suspicious look today. . .and I kind of made it obvious." He shrugged. "Oh well. They'll figure it out." He turned his head slightly to look at Valdimar. "Though I'm not looking too forward to tomorrow. . ." His smile turned into a slight frown, thinking about the stress that he definitely would be experiencing.

The Dane sighed and slipped out his phone, typing away at the keys. "Since surprisingly enough Vash actually is cool with me, I guess I'll ask him. He shouldn't mind-'specially if Lili reads the message." Mathias paused, then decided to send the message to the Liechtenstein as well. _As long as we keep Alfred out of this, it should be fine. . .even if they want to hear NATO's opinion. . .I'm here, and that's all that matters._ Mathias sighed once again as he dropped his arm to the side. "Anything else I should know?"

* * *

Elizaveta carefully observed the younger nation in front of her; she was well aware of her idiosyncrasies, thinking that what she had said could have boiled some animosity in her. The tension was rising again - the Hungarian could definitely pick that up from the atmosphere. Luckily, the Czech refrained from making any dangerous moves. She didn't want any more to put through - after all, she had just dealt with and recovered from one. If Milena didn't hold herself back, then who knew what kind of chaos could erupt from the once peaceful nations and how far their relations would continue to be destroyed.

A frown formed on her lips as Milena excused herself, watching her, whose appearance perhaps matched hers in beauty and elegance, glide out of her sight. _She's probably doing this to avoid problems, or maybe just me._ However, Elizaveta couldn't be too upset about it. Things were how things were, or as Mathias would put it: shit happens. The Hun couldn't stop her mouth from giving out a small smile. _Maybe I have more to thank him for._

With the support of the wall in case something could happen to her, Elizaveta rose to her feet, deciding to do something in the meantime. "Bella, if you would allow me, I'll be off to take a quick shower. Don't get too lonely." She chuckled to show that she was teasing before striding over to her luggage to snatch a nightgown and some undergarments and, without waiting for an answer, took off to bathe.

...

As Valdimar listened to his Nordic brother, he involuntarily twitched his finger, focusing more on his sense of touch than Mathias himself. _...This feeling._ He had detected it before, during the time he and Eirik had visited the Dane just some while back. His eyes crept over to his roommate to read his expression and his demeanor, trying to see if he could catch onto something. How he was acting and the way he talked..._I'm right. He has matured._ The Icelander had no doubt that Elizaveta was changing him in some way, though not entirely - which he was actually thankful for. The boy even exchanged a look with his puffin for noticing that. "Yeah," he replied to his words, trying to sound as if he was paying attention to him (he did, really - but just not completely). Luckily, he managed to hear Mathias's question.

"Hmm..." Valdimar tossed himself down beside Mathias, though leaving a good distance between them, and locked his eyes onto the ceiling. "Don't think so. But you should know one thing that seemed to stick out to me during the meeting - Emil looked pissed." He paused, attempting to recreate the image of the Slovak's angered face and describe it in words. His stressed eyebrows, stiffened frown, and glaring, dark purple eyes left an impression on the pondering nation. "It may sound unimportant, but it feels as if...if Elizaveta was there, he'd try to kill her again on the spot."

* * *

"Oh, okay! And I'll try my best." Bella replied to the Hungarian, grinning at her as she went off to take a shower. Once the Belgian heard the door shut, she heaved a large sigh. _Damn, even I can feel the tension, and I wasn't even sitting with them. ._ She shook her head, and poured the _waterzool_ she had been making into three soup bowls. The stew, consisting of a rich mix of chicken, vegetables, cream and eggs, gave off waves of steam. Bella quickly set the tables before wiping her brow with her forearm. "Phew. At least nothing got started-"

"And hopefully it'll remain that way." Bella nearly shrieked when she heard the silky, feminine voice behind her. She whipped around to see the Czech in shorts and a tank-top, her nightwear. "Milena! Don't scare me like that!" Bella shook her head, crossing her arms. Milena simply gave a small, apologetic smile before sitting down at one of the chairs at the table. "I don't want to start anything. . .but I'm wondering what will happen after tomorrow." The Czech bit the inside of her cheek. _We'll surely get into some type of argument then. . .and Emil, he's still. . ._ Bella sat next to Milena, their food still hot as they waited for Elizaveta, nodding slowly. "I understand," she spoke softly. "...I guess we'll just have to see what happens." The Belgian noticed the other nation hitting keys on her phone, texting, and let out another sigh. _Just please don't burn my place down._

...

The Dane glanced a the Icelander as he too, fell onto the bed. _Kill her again on the spot?_ Mathias frowned, the thought painting an unpleasant picture in his mind. "That's not good..." He murmured, not able to help himself think of the Hungarian. _Oh man, what have I got myself into?_ He shook his head as if to get rid of the thought, and stared intensely at the ceiling, knitting his eyebrows. "Things are worse than I thought between those two." He tried to recall all the times he had heard about the constant fighting the two nations would involve themselves in. Mathias then remembered that he had not taken much interest in it at the time, as the Nordics always had kept mainly to themselves.

"Well, as scary as that sounds, it won't happen. It's one thing to shoot her-_twice_, at that-on their border and then to start something at a EU meeting..." The Dane sighed, and looked to the time. "I guess we should get some sleep. . .tomorrow is going to be a long day." _And a long night._ Mathias wanted to kick himself. . .but he knew he wouldn't be able to stop himself from thinking of the Hungarian, even in his dreams. _It's official. You are insane._

* * *

Elizaveta quietly shut and locked the door behind her, then gently pressed her back against it, back slouching and her eyes wandering to the ceiling as she sighed again. So many problems have been building up for her that she was quite convinced that her issues were worse off than Roderich's - for the time being. _And he'll be concerned for me once I see him tomorrow._ Her fingertips pushed against the door for her to stand properly, then Elizaveta faced the mirror to see a clone of herself, its movements impeccably synchronized with hers. She glared at her, in which the doppelganger immediately returned the expression, before averting her gaze and undressing.

She was particularly careful when removing the clothes on her upper body, making sure the bandages wouldn't peel off with the cloth. The Hungarian proceeded to unwrap the bandages by hand, grimacing nervously from the noise of the peeling tape as she anticipated a ripple of pain (though luckily didn't feel too much), and tossed them into a trash can. Once she finished, her head twisted around, as well as her arm, to get a glimpse of her wound. The stitches embedded in her arm weren't so great to look at, nor were they in a condition to be exposed. _I'll have to ask Bella for new bandages..._ Realizing that she was stalling long enough already, Elizaveta went into the shower, trying to both take her time and not spend too much of it in there.

After experiencing quite a bit of pain from the drumming warm water, drying her body of the liquid, and slipping on her nightgown, the nation soon returned to the other two female countries, settling down in a vacant seat at the table. She attempted to pretend that nothing was wrong between her and Milena, not wanting to mention about their conflicts during dinner. "Sorry, that took some time there." Her nose twitched as she discovered a bowl of soup in front of her, having picked up the scent of the food when she left the bathroom. Elizaveta took an experimental sip, then smiled and nodded approvingly. "Bella, could you wrap my wounds after dinner? I don't want them to worsen in one day."

...

Valdimar slowly shook his head. "It's enough for me to not want to attend the meeting at all tomorrow, but I'm going whether or not I want to." To not know what happened in there was worrisome as it already was, and it didn't help that Mathias was in a relationship with Elizaveta - and when she got involved in something, the Dane would most likely become a part of it too in an effort to aid her. The Icelander himself would be questioned about his role as a country, especially if he had just recently signed up to join the EU. "And yeah, I agree - Emil wouldn't do that when he already shot her twice."

When reminded of needing to sleep, Valdimar glanced at the clock, nodding in congruence. "We should." He flipped himself over onto his knees, crawling up to the higher part of the bed and switching off a light, and slid between the blankets and mattress. His puffin snuggled in between the crack of the two pillows on the bed, which were adjacent to one another. "But I can't fall asleep when there's a smelly Dane who hasn't showered for days lying next to me." He was teasing him - only very slightly, since he was being honest - though his emotionless facial expression and tone of voice gave away a feeling of complete seriousness.

* * *

Milena slipped her phone away as Elizaveta appeared at the table, her eyes drifting to her wounds. They weren't pleasant to look at at all, and she had to refrain from frowning or showing any sign to acknowledge the Hun's injuries, just in case it could accidentally evolve into something more.

"No problem, and of course!" The Belgian nodded, smiling, also glancing at her wounds. Not wanting to stay too long on the subject for obvious reasons (and figuring she could question Elizaveta more when Milena wasn't around to hear), she tried to think of something else to talk about. Deciding to tease the Hungarian, she took a spoonful of the stew before giving her a sly grin. "So. . .what got you so attracted to _Mathias_~?"

Milena perked up at that, looking to Elizaveta, nodding slowly, also pretending that nothing was wrong. "Oh, yeah, I was wondering about that. . ." Both the Czech and Belgian exchanged glances before looking back to the third female nation, waiting to see her reaction.

...

Mathias grimaced. "You're not the only one. . " He sighed, and watched the Icelander crawl into bed. The Dane then blinked at his comment, and laughed, slowly rolling off of the bed and standing up. "Yeah, yeah, I got it, puffin-boy." Mathias stretched and went over to his luggage to grab his nightwear and slipped into the bathroom.

The Dane stared at the mirror, seeing how disheveled and tired he really was. _If you look like this now, just wait till after tomorrow..._ He slipped out of his clothing and turned on the shower, soaking in the steam and hot water. Mathias leaned against the shower wall, sighing again, trying to clear his mind, which was becoming increasingly harder to do as more days passed by. _Keep this up, and you'll be asking for more trouble. . ._ He finally finished showering off and dried himself, slipping into his shirt and boxers, and welcomed the cool air of the room after leaving the almost suana-like bathroom. Seeing the back of the Icelander as he lay in bed, he called out softly to see if he was still awake. "Valdi?"

* * *

Elizaveta smiled warmly at the Belgian, glad that she seemed more than happy to help her. If anything, Bella was serving as the peacemaker right now, especially with Milena around. She slightly hovered over her dinner and slowly consumed her portion while pressing her hair against the towel around her neck and shoulders with a hand, preventing it from dripping water into or skimming her food. Her body, however, tightened up as Bella inquired about Mathias, not suspecting her to recover the topic. The spoon she held returned into the bowl as she released it, sinking a bit due to the weight and density of the soup, and Elizaveta fixed her posture to politely reply to the other two, lightly blushing.

"I..." The Hungarian had already lost her words, too embarrassed and under pressure to answer right away. Her voice quickly found itself again. "There's a lot about him that attracts me to him. He's good looking and handsome...but i-it's not just appearance, either!" It was difficult for her to keep eye contact with Bella or Milena, and veered her eyes from the both of them, now looking out of the window, almost hoping that Mathias would pop out of nowhere and come in to be with her. "He's carefree and outgoing - not in a bad way, of course. And it's like he'll do anything for the better of me." She paused, her smile widening and blush deepening; when she continued, her voice was low, but delicate. "Believe it or not, a part of his personality is like Roderich's. But Mathias has a different air - he's a lot happier that it makes me feel happier as well." The nation purposely left out the story of their Viking and Hun selves, not willing to reveal that aspect of them.

...

Valdimar frowned slightly at Mathias's name-calling, glaring at the ceiling until he heard the click of the door, then sighed. _What a day._ He turned his head to glance at his puffin, which looked back at him curiously, its head tipped to the side. "...Let me know if Mathias is about to kick me off of the bed." The bird's wings expanded slightly, its body shifting from side to side as if it was making its 'nest' more comfortable, though was ambiguously replying to the Icelander. He scoffed lightly before shifting his body onto one side, facing out of the bed, not really caring if his puffin decided to look out for him. _And he'd better not get himself into something big tomorrow._ Finally, Valdimar shut his eyes, listening to the inconsistent drops of water from the bathroom as he fell asleep out of fatigue, not having heard Mathias's call when he finished showering.

* * *

Both Bella and Milena listened closely to the Hungarian as she spoke, amused by the discoloring of her face and her sudden shy demeanor. Bella giggled as Elizaveta finished, though her eyes sparkled with mischief. "Though the thing about having some similarity to Roderich seems a little hard to believe. . .I can't blame you when it comes to his looks." The Belgian winked at her, teasing. "He always seemed like a happy jerk to me. Always smiling or laughing..." The Belgium shook her head, closing her eyes as she recalled her memories. Upon reopening them, she grinned again. "But my my, to think you've gotten involved with him." She giggled again, showing that she was just messing around with her friend.

Milena stayed silent, listening to Bella, and couldn't help but allow a small smile adorn her lips. On any regular basis, the Czech would probably be there right along the Belgian, teasing the Hungarian, but with the situation at hand, she couldn't bring herself to. Instead, she just nodded, speaking curtly: "That's good to hear. I hope the best for you two." She smiled again, sincerely, and finished off her dinner. Milena pushed back her chair as she got up, bowl in hand, and walked to the sink to wash and put it away. "I'm pretty wiped out. I'll be heading to bed." She looked to the other two nations before disappearing down the hallway. "Goodnight!" She called out, before the sound of the door gently closing was heard.

"Night!" Bella let out another sigh, knowing very well that the Czech was doing everything to avoid the Hungarian. She finished up her own dinner and got up, opening a cabinet to take out a small box, from which she brought out new bandages. She walked back over to Elizaveta, sitting beside her, lowering her voice in case Milena was still awake. "How are you feeling?"

...

Mathias waited a few seconds, and receiving no response, sighed. He ruffled his damp hair, looking out the window to the city below, before getting startled by a knock at the door. _...At this time?_ He guessed that the Icelander had forgotten to put up the 'Do Not Disturb' sign, and went over to slowly open to see who it was.

"Ah, Mat'ias. Y're back." The Swede blinked in some surprise, expecting Valdimar to open the door. Mathias gazed coolly back at him, nodding, "Yes, I am. . ." He glanced back into the room, and quietly swung the door fully open to allow Berwald to enter. "Valdi's asleep. So keep quiet." The Swede rolled his eyes, finding it ironic that _Mathias_ of all people would be the one to tell others to be quiet. He crossed his arms, looking the Dane directly in the eye. "Y'realize t'at 'morrow isn't gonna b'pretty."

* * *

Elizaveta smiled as Bella gave her opinion on the Dane, finding most - if not all - of what she said to be too true. Though the Belgian described Mathias's traits as if they were to look down upon, she herself had a more positive view of them, finding them to be strengths of his character. _Oh, right...no one really knows that side of Mathias. Everyone keeps on looking at him as if he shouldn't ever be taken seriously._ The Hungarian shook her head slowly, continuing to eat her dinner while wearing the same smile. _At least he hasn't ruined his reputation as much as Gilbert did._ Her tips had involuntarily twitched into a frown from that thought, then shooed it away. Then a laugh from her body recovered her happiness, in which Elizaveta replied to Bella's words about her bond with Mathias, "It's surprising, I know. But these sort of things can happen out of the blue, right?"

When she brought a spoonful of soup back to her mouth, her eyes shifted over to Milena as the Czech excused herself from the table. Elizaveta, again, tried not to care that she was intentionally avoiding her, suppressing any reactions or emotions that could arise. She would have responded with a "good night", though found it too awkward to have a delayed answer because of an occupied mouth, and simply watched the nation head to bed. _When this EU meeting is done, everything's going to be far worse than before..._ After a few more spoons of the soup, the Hun quietly pushed the bowl away from her, then rolled up her loose sleeve for easier management of her wound. Hearing Bella's question, Elizaveta audibly exhaled some air, shutting her eyes.

"I'm alright - I just need some rest." She moved her upper body to lean her back against the chair, her eyes drifting off to the roof. "Hey Bella...did anyone by any chance...disapprove of Mathias's absence during the meeting? What I mean is, were there any strange reactions?"

...

Tino soon popped out from behind Berwald's back, peeking into the hotel room through the gaps between the door frame and the two towering Nordics. "Hi Mathias!" he whispered rather energetically, grinning. "It's good to know you're back!" He carefully squeezed past Mathias and Berwald, maneuvering around various obstacles to reach into the deeper part of the room, also checking on the sleeping Icelander to see if the Dane was right. _...He looks asleep to me,_ he confirmed, along with a small nod to himself. Turning back around, the Finn bobbled his head once more, agreeing with the Swede.

"I don't like the looks of where this is going, either. Valdi did tell you about the meeting, right? I'm pretty sure that something's going to be set up to keep Emil and Elizaveta away from each other for a while..." He frowned, disliking the thought of turbulent nations. He didn't approve of arguments and fights at all, especially since what happened in the past between the five Nordics; he was aware that Elizaveta had some sort of a 'family' with a few other nations, one of the members being Emil, and for them to tear apart more than Northern Europe did was uncomfortable to think about.

* * *

Bella stopped what she was doing for a moment, looking to the Hungarian. "Strange reactions? Hmmm..." The Belgian examined one of the wounds before gingerly wrapping a long length of bandage around it several times as she recalled the meeting. "Well, everyone was a bit surprised, that's for sure. I mean, if it was someone around the area, it would have made sense. But the fact that it was Mathias..." She trailed off, patting the bandages as she finished before moving to the Hungarian's other side with more bandaging.

"Roderich didn't really say much. I think most just figured it was an excuse for Mathias to miss out on the meeting-you know how reluctant he can be when comes to participating in them." The Belgian chuckled quietly. "But, then again, with what happened they thought it would be better for him to be here, to see Nato's side of things...I mean, no one outright said anything about you two, y'know, having a relationship or anything." She fiddled with the bandaging, and then lowered her voice, speaking carefully. "Valdi, Berwald, and Tino didn't look surprised by Mathias's absence...so we moved on. And let's just say Emil was giving me the chills." Bella shivered as she remembered the dark vibe the Slovak had been giving off.

...

"Hey Tino." The Dane also lowered his voice, waiting for both of the other Nordics to be fully in the room before slowly closing the door. He leaned against the wall, a hand running through his hair as he sighed heavily. "Yeah, Valdi told me. And that'll be hard, considering the two are neighbors." The Dane frowned, wondering what the EU's final decision would come to. "Valdi also told me that Emil looked mighty pissed...so I'm guessing tomorrow is going to be one hell of a ride." He closed his eyes for a moment, thinking, and suddenly opened them, coming to a realization.

"...I completely forgot. Eli's at Bella's place...and so is Milena." For as long as he could remember, Mathias had known the Czech and Slovak to be an item. He shifted uncomfortably, his frown hardening. "Hopefully no shit will start flying before morning." The Dane grabbed his phone, his thumb smoothing over the screen. _I should see if she's doing alright..._ He sent her a quick message, though also realized that the Hun could already be asleep. He returned his attention to the other two, glancing once at the sleeping Icelander. "Though Valdi told me, was there anything that you two think I should know from today?"

* * *

Elizaveta winced as the bandage moved around her arm; she always disliked the feeling when someone else bandaged her arm, not knowing where it would go and what it would do, compared to the feeling when she did it herself, in which she controlled the wrapping. "I was expecting that much," she sighed, easily imagining the looks of the nations and the stares she would receive. "I should say that that isn't so bad." Again, the Hungarian glanced at her arm, viewing the work her friend had done, then adjusted her nightgown slightly to expose her other wound and continued wondering about the other countries. Of course, she was thankful that Roderich didn't break any of his words, yet was rather shocked with the Nordic's responses. _They...didn't seem surprised?_ There were several possible reasons to why that could be, though decided not to ponder about that, knowing that it could cause a headache to form. However, a headache attacked her anyways as Emil was brought up. She frowned, not giving a reply to that.

Her body immediately perked up from her phone's distant hum and vibration, getting stabbed by pain as her shoulder accidentally bumped into Bella's hand. Elizaveta pursed her lips, bearing through the stinging, before turning her head to tell the Belgian, "Sorry - let me get my phone." She walked over to her luggage where she had tossed her old clothes on, digging out her mobile device from one of the pockets, then her fingers danced around the keypad to view the new message. A smile managed to creep onto her face without consciously knowing it. _Mathias._ Her fingers further danced along the buttons, sending a text message to the Dane.  
_I'm okay, Mathias. I just need some sleep - shouldn't you be in bed?_

The Hun couldn't help but to chuckle from her own text, her grin widening.

...

Tino sighed worriedly, dreading about the following day. If he could, he would stand up and try to prevent any uproars from coming up during the conference, since it was likely that Emil and Elizaveta could get into some kind of argument. And his expression today... He shook his head disapprovingly from that memory. The Finn then caught Mathias with his cell phone as he returned his attention to the other two, blinking once. "Milena? Oh yeah, she's with Emil, huh?" Again, he frowned; that would just mean more tension during the meeting tomorrow. "I'm not sure if Elizaveta can hold herself from arguing, but I hope she does...after all, isn't she wiped out from the gunshots?" Tino then thought once more, a finger tapping his chin, and murmured, "I don't think there's anything else to say...Valdi probably covered it."

* * *

Bella sighed. "Yeah, I guess you can't expect much else. . ." She then nodded, also having jerked from hearing the vibration from the Hungarian's phone. She watched Elizaveta approach her suitcase, watching her carefully for any signs of discomfort, and observed her expression. Upon seeing her smile, Bella chuckled, leaning back in her chair. "Mmmm, I'm guessing it's from Ma-th-ias~, isn't it?" The Belgian grinned, knowing that nothing else could have made her smile so much in a heartbeat. _She's really fallen for him..._ "Is he checking up on you? How sweeet~" Bella giggled, fiddling with the bandages in her hand. She then looked to the time, blinking in surprise. "Oh my, it's that late already . . .we better get to sleep, dear."

...

"Yeah, she is." Mathias sighed again, his body starting to feel the fatigue from the day. "Oh, okay then. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens tomorrow." The Dane's body jolted as he felt the vibration from his phone, immediately opening the message from the Hungarian. He couldn't help but show a small smile, and quickly replied.  
_You're asking me that? Go to sleep, you._

Mathias yawned, slowly feeling more energy leave his body. Berwald observed the Dane before nodding and making his way back to the door. "Well, g'd night, then. Better head off t'bed. 'Morrow is gonna be a long day." The Swede looked to the Finn, signaling that he should leave as well, and departed. "Yeah, 'night." Mathias called after the Swede, sighing. _At this rate, I'll either not sleep at all or end up falling asleep on the spot._

* * *

Elizaveta waited for her phone to ring out a short tune again, with the belief that Mathias would answer her right away. Her body tingled as Bella teased her again, which the Hungarian snapped her head around, half-smirking and half-grinning. "Yes, it's him," she answered, having much difficulty to keep herself composed. However, her playful side came out anyways from the Belgian's later words, her voice mildly serious and whinier than anything else. "Oh, shut up!" She laughed, her eyes returning to the phone's screen when the device shivered in her hands, and again typed another message to the Dane with deft fingers.  
_You bet I am._

_Alright, alright - I'll get to sleep. Take care, okay?_

With that, the Hun closed the window, immediately darting her eyes to the time in the corner of the screen. "You're right," Elizaveta agreed, her feet giving pressure to the floor to stand up. She twisted her head to try to glimpse at her shoulder. "You're done bandaging me, right? I'll head to bed from here if you are."

...

Tino nodded once more, though rather hesitantly after Berwald had insisted on heading back to his hotel room. He didn't want to leave so soon, but of course, he was right - they wouldn't be able to sleep during tomorrow's meeting, which would obviously be very hectic and stress inducing.

Quickly, he hopped over beside the bed with the sleeping nation, putting on a small grin. "Sleep well, Valdi!" he whispered to him, though received no response. Tino then rushed over to the door, but not without swerving around to face Mathias and chirp quietly, "Night, Mathias! Let's hope for the best tomorrow." The Finn then disappeared out of the room and the doorway to rest up for the night, leaving the Dane by himself.

* * *

Bella laughed warmly, shaking her head as she got up and put the bandages away. "You're too cute. And yes, I'm done, so you can go and get some much needed rest!" The Belgian's eyes skimmed the kitchen and dining room, making sure everything was in order, before turning off the lights and grabbing the Hungarian's luggage. "Here, I'll escort you to your room." Her voice imitated that of a gentleman, accompanied with an exaggerated bow, before she giggled and walked down the still lighted hallway to the Hun's temporary room. She sat down the luggage, and turned to give the Hun a light hug. "Good night. Sleep well-don't stay up talking to Mathias, now." She smiled, her last few words ringing with a teasing and mischievous tone. Bella kissed Elizaveta on the cheek before departing to her own room, ready to collapse on her bed after a long day.

...

"Night, Tino!" Mathias watched the Finn depart his room, making sure the door didn't close with a _bang_, and looked down at his vibrating phone, which was still clutched in his hand. He opened the message, and couldn't help but chuckle. Knowing she would be expecting an answer, he replied:  
_Heh, I will. You too. Night, babe._

The Dane stretched and went to put his phone on charge, which started flashing low battery signs the moment after it sent the message. He looked back to the sleeping nation, his puffin also seemingly fast asleep. _If that thing pecks me in the middle of the night. . ._ He shook his head, and quickly brushed his teeth and got ready for bed. Mathias looked outside the window one last time before setting the alarm and crawling into the bed. He let out another long, loud sigh. _Let everything work out smoothly tomorrow._ As sleep came to overtake him, he had a feeling his wish wouldn't be granted.

* * *

Elizaveta grinned and happily walked closely behind the Belgian, looking forward to getting her energy renewed for the next day, though felt bad that Bella had offered to drag her luggage to her room. However, the Hungarian no longer felt that way when she decided to further tease her, causing Elizaveta burst out into soft laughter and accent aloud her name, "_Bella!_" She shook her head, peering again at her phone, and read her new message, not replying and figuring that it was that text was a good stopping point for the night. She nodded and murmured a thanks, grinning when the other nation showed her sign of affection, then shut the door as Bella left her in her room.

_Oh, what a day._ The events of that day whizzed through her head again, making her frown. Though she was incredibly pleased to be with Mathias, all of the trivial and unfortunate things that have been happening to them have been haunting the two of them, too. Her feet slid her over to the bed, her hand lazily pulling back the blanket that was snugly tucked into the bed, and her body climbed in, letting itself collapse onto the mattress. _...But tomorrow's not going to be much better._

_

* * *

_

**_A/N:_**

_Ahhh sorry for the slow update again! Even though now it's coming dangerously close to where we are in the RP now, haha.  
_

_Milena, or the Czech Republic (known as Czechia in other parts of the world), makes a longer appearance here and will play...a somewhat important role, I guess? If it's not clear enough, she's in a relationship with Emil/Slovakia, xNeyu's OC. To put it simply, Czechia, like Slovakia, has been under much influence by their neighbors and has many tense relationships with them. x: For history, scroll a bit down-I'll add a chunk of it there._

_Since they are about to be in a meeting for the EU, things will be getting pretty political, but don't worry, we won't be having chapters and chapters worth of heavy politics - that's just ridiculous. So even though the characters say that the EU meeting is extended by an extra day and lasts for a few days long, we'll be skipping over all of that after this problem with Hungary and Slovakia. c:_

_

* * *

_**History Notes**

_Czechia was once under Austria's rule, back then during the time of the Austria-Hungary Empire, and Slovakia was under Hungary's rule. However, as time went on both nations fought for independence. In fact, their struggle is led to believe to be one of the causes of World War I, as Austria-Hungary feared Slav nationalism and therefore put even more pressure on them, only making things worse through efforts of Magyarization (Hungarisation) and Germanisation._

_Slovakia suffered from Magyarization, during which most Slovak schools were shut down and they were forced to speak Hungarian and adopt the Hungarian culture. Many Slovaks lost their identity and could not remember their own language and were put into a state of fear of even showing any evidence of their Slovak culture as they would be brutally punished for it. There is a lot to it...look it up on Wikipedia if you wish to know more. Due to this there is still extreme hostility between Slovakia and Hungary. Czechia suffered from Germanisation, which was basically the same as Magyarization just with the German language and culture to this there is still tension between Germany and Czechia. Austria could be said to supporting Germanisation, which added to Czechia's growing irritation of being under Austrian rule. In the Hetalia world, we figured that this would mean that Czechia and Slovakia nearly died as their language, culture, and everything that made up their identity was being destroyed. _

_Believe it or not Austria and Hungary did fight against each other numerous times, and Slovakia sought out the help of Austria to get out of Hungary's rule-in fact Slovakia fought **with** Austria **against** Hungary on several occasions. _

_Czechia and Slovakia managed to escape Austria and Hungary's rule, and married, forming Czechoslovakia. After several hardships, primarily concerning the Second World War, the people of both Czechia and Slovakia peacefully wished for independent states. The two peacefully split, known as the "Velvet Divorce", but some have said that it was a pointless move and the two would have been better off staying united. Hence why here we've decided that they're still in a relationship. I could delve into a lot more about the relations between Austria-Hungary-Slovakia-Czech, but I don't want to overwhelm with information, haha. Maybe in a later chapter._

_~THE MORE YOU KNOW~_


	33. Chapter 32

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 32**

* * *

And it wasn't. It was much worse.

The stress she had before had attacked her once again the following morning, very similar to the one she had the day Mathias set foot onto her land. It didn't help that her body was weakening day after day, or so it seemed - she even debated whether or not to take her medication for a moment, but forced herself to swallow down a capsule with a cup of water, as requested of the doctor.

When she arrived at the lobby of the building where the conference was to be held, Elizaveta didn't see too many of the other nations, since it was rather early to arrive as she wanted to see if she missed anything important, though they quickly entered in a short amount of time. Some nations had approached her, inquiring about her health; others, she could tell they weren't in the finest mood of their lives, knowing that hell would ensue soon. Roderich had come up to her as well, though insisted that he not worry for her; she hated to look at it this way, but it was the truth: they weren't together any longer and she had moved on, no longer with the feeling that she sought him for any more 'advice' as if he was her 'father', and the Austrian truly didn't need to watch over her. He wasn't all that hurt, either - Roderich even smiled slightly, glad that Elizaveta was able to shrug away problems.

The Hun was hunting for Mathias and Emil in particular - Mathias, who was the reliever of her mind, and Emil, the causation of many of her problems. To her dismay, she inevitably detected first the latter, with his hostile aura when he passed through the doorway. He had shot her a glare, the same one that Bella perhaps described to her. But she was used to it. Naturally, the Slovak's expression aroused her aggressive side, in which she exchanged with him a just as powerful stare, until he disappeared into the meeting room. Elizaveta soon discovered the other nations staring at them with much concern, then shook her head and sighed, averting her eyes away from the conference room. _If something started before the meeting did..._

* * *

Mathias stared up at the building he was about to enter. Since he had woken up this morning, he had felt a terrible, sickening feeling in his stomach, something worse than the usual butterflies. He had tried to shake off the feeling, but it ended up growing stronger on the way to the conference. _Great._ He let out a heavy sigh, flexing his hands into fists and back to normal. Valdimar had already gone in ahead of him, being pulled aside by Arthur to talk about something, and he was pretty sure Berwald and Tino were already inside as well. He had nodded to a couple of the other nations as they entered, and could easily sense the tension in the atmosphere. He adjusted his tie, and was about to walk in, when he heard a feminine voice behind him.

"Hello, Mathias." The Dane turned to see Milena, the Czech, dressed in a formal skirt and shirt. He had had positive relations with the female nation for years, and they could easily be called friends. He managed to smile and nod in return. "Hello, Milena." He felt incredibly awkward at that moment-here they were with the issue of Emil and Elizaveta, and now he, officially with the Hungarian, was facing the Slovak's other half. Milena sensed the tension in him, and shook her head. "Don't worry. I'm not here to say anything to you. Just..." She paused, contemplating. "...I think we're both going to have to try hard today to not let emotion rule us."

Mathias nodded, his expression grim. He knew very well what Milena was talking about, and secretly prayed that both of them could stick to their word. Milena sighed, and smiled. "Well, here's to a hell of a day." With that, the Czech swiftly walked past him and into the building, heading straight to the conference room, obviously to check up on Emil. The Dane watched her, before finally forcing himself inside the building.

His eyes scanned around the lobby. He managed to see Berwald just enter the conference room, figuring his other brothers were already inside, and saw a couple of other nations still lingering around. Mathias also noticed the glances and hushed whispering once he entered, and tried not to frown. _They're probably talking about us..._ His eyes landed on Elizaveta, and that feeling in his stomach disappeared, though only for a second. He calmly walked over to her, voice low. "How are you feeling?"

"Alright everyone. The meeting is going to start in two minutes-better get to your seats." The Belgian strode through the lobby, her heels clicking across the tile floor as she made her way to the conference room. "No funny business. You all know we've got a lot on our hands. Now come on." Bella's voice was commanding, as she slightly turned to glance at those still in the lobby before entering the doors of the conference room. Some nations mumbled, a couple grumbled, but they all made their way inside, uneasily glancing at the Hungarian and Dane before leaving the lobby.

* * *

Elizaveta's heart was stimulated with delight when Mathias appeared in her sight, relieving her of the emotions that the Slovak had given her earlier. She twirled around to walk in his direction, wearing a grin that soon disappeared from her face, and stopped herself from moving from where she stood as Milena caught the Dane before she did. Her eyes turned serious and a hand clasped over the other while she waited patiently for the two to finish talking, knowing better than to eavesdrop, no matter how tempting it was, and averted her gaze from them. _As long as she doesn't spill crap about me to him..._

The Hungarian's wait wasn't as long as she thought it would be, and when Mathias came up to her and spoke, his familiar, soothing voice lent her a short boost of energy. Her mouth opened to answer his question, but again, she had to keep herself from making a noise as Bella roamed around to urge the nations into the conference room. Elizaveta had to make their conversation quick.

"Not any better than yesterday," she grumbled once Bella disappeared from the lobby, glaring at the ground as if blaming it for her problems. Her eyes rose back up to meet the Viking's. "It looks like I'll be staying in bed for an extra few hours. I hate being handicapped..." The Hun paused to then shift her gaze to the room they were to be in. "Anyway, we should head inside. There's much to resolve." As much as she wanted to continue conversing with the Nordic and show any displays of affection, Elizaveta resisted herself and strolled into the meeting room, not waiting for Mathias, and sat down at her usual seat, next to Roderich's. She scanned the seats; from where she sat, she would be able to see Mathias...but on the other hand, Emil settled close by, sitting just diagonally across from her. His same expression from when he entered the lobby was still there, just as fierce now as it was then.

"As you requested, Elizaveta, I've told the EU about your condition and what happened the other day yesterday," Roderich reported to the Hungarian, bending his head in towards the woman. Elizaveta turned her head slightly to give him her attention. "I also called Vash and Lili to ask them to join us in a video conference today. They will be able to aid us, concerning your situation with Emil." The Hungarian nodded a thanks, remaining silent with crossed arms as the Slovak's presence alone fueled the deadly side of her, waiting for the meeting to commence.

* * *

Mathias frowned slightly from her response, murmuring quickly back to her. "Don't worry-you'll be back to full health soon." He then nodded, watching the Hungarian make her way into the conference room, before glancing around one more time, seeing that everyone had headed inside. He let some air escape through his lips, then walked into the meeting room, making his way to his designated seat, which was between the Icelander and Swede, and of course the Finn was right alongside. As the Dane settled into his seat, he also looked around, knowing he could see the Hungarian, who sat next to the Austrian. _That will probably continue to bug me._

"Don' say anythin' stupid." Mathias's thoughts were interrupted by Berwald, who grumbled quietly. The Dane rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair. "I'm not an idiot, as much as you'd like to think I am, _Sve_." As he looked around again, he saw Emil, and felt almost as if he could feel the tension in the air, especially with him sitting in direct view of Elizaveta. Milena sat next to him, her expression emotionless, though occasionally giving the Slovak a worried glance.

"Alright, roll call, everyone." The Belgian tapped a pen at the front of the room, on a podium that rose above the slightly U-shaped table. Bella called through all the member nations' names, and after making sure that no one was missing, let out a sigh. "Commencing day two of the conference. Now, while we have much to discuss, the first thing we must deal with is the recent event that has occurred. Now that Elizaveta is out of the hospital, we can hopefully resolve this issue in an orderly manner. We'll also see what Nato-" She nodded to Mathias. "-have to say about this. I have also been informed that we will have a video conference with Vash and Lili, as they were the only witnesses of the incident." She paused, taking a breath as she gazed around the room. _Damn, this tension is getting to me._ She cleared her throat before continuing. "Vash and Lili are standing by, but before that, as we heard Emil's side of the story yesterday, it's time to hear Elizaveta's." Bella nodded to the Hungarian, signaling her to stand and speak. "Please, if you will, Elizaveta."

* * *

Valdimar, the Icelandic nation, nodded after Berwald had completed his words. His head beckoned to the Slovak, giving the nation recognition. "See Emil, over there?" he murmured quietly to the Dane, joining the conversation with the last few seconds they were able to chatter. "That glare - that's what I was telling you about last night." Even now, Valdimar couldn't stand looking at Emil for a second, finding his expression too powerful to view. He wondered how Elizaveta was able to tolerate it.

As Bella initiated the meeting, the nations quickly fell silent to listen to her; most were watching the Belgian, but Elizaveta herself felt a number of stares on her, though was not willing to glance around to see who was doing so. Her body perked up once the president had called her name, by then receiving almost all of the members' attention, their looks pressuring her to speak out. The Hungarian wasn't discouraged to talk, as most people would – all nations had to have satisfactory public speaking skills, after all. The only gaze she had to avoid was Emil's, whose glare could cause her to possibly start another riot.

Elizaveta nodded to Bella, indicating that she was willing to take on the baton. "As Emil had told me, there was another incident of a Slovak murdering Hungarian civilians in Slovakia. My body reacted to that, so I began coughing out blood while heading back home from Lili's house – and, experiencing this several times before, I knew that this had to be related to Emil and Vash took us to him." It was difficult for her to not glance at the Slovak and had stared at the table as substitute, feeling the uneasy atmosphere become more distorted. "He was already waiting for me on the border. I asked him what had happened, and personally knowing Emil, questioned his duty as a nation."

There, she heard Emil shift, ever so slightly. She continued regardless, calmly and still not making eye contact with him, "He confirmed to me that he wasn't willing to negotiate with his government about the situation since he didn't mind about the killing. Vash then drove away with Lili, giving the impression that they were leaving, and made Emil comment that could possibly and unnecessarily involve them." Elizaveta paused, feeling her throat close in as she was hesitant to admit what she did next. She could tell that Emil was paying close attention to the way she explained the details and was surprised that he remained silent for this long. "I threatened him with a knife because he wasn't handling this seriously, and after some small talk that happened to offend him, Emil shot me twice."

* * *

The nations listened carefully to Elizaveta, a couple glancing at Emil to see if they could detect any reactions from him. Mathias in particular watched the Hungarian like a hawk-looking for any signs of discomfort or insecurity. He noticed her gaze stayed away from Emil, who had just continued his intense glare. As the Hun spoke of how she threatened the Slovak with a knife, the Viking allowed a slight frown to form on his lips. _So it's really not completely his fault..._

Bella nodded as the Hungarian finished. "I see. Thank you, Elizaveta. Now let's see what Vash and Lili have to say." The Belgian pressed a button on a small remote, which lowered a large screen behind her. Once it locked into place, she hit another, which turned it on, and after fumbling with a couple of things, a video screen popped up. In its frame sat Vash and Lili, also professionally dressed in what seemed an office. After making sure that both sides could hear and see the other, Bella glanced around the room before slightly turning to the screen. "Vash, you and Lili were witnesses to this event. Please, tell us your point of view."

The Swiss straightened up and nodded, clearing his throat. "I was at a conference, and had gone to Lili's home to check up on her, when I saw that Elizaveta was there and coughing up blood. She demanded that she go see Emil, and not wanting her to strain her body in such a weak condition, I drove her there as she refused to rest up and regain her strength first. Lili accompanied us and when we reached the border between Elizaveta's and Emil's lands, he seemed to be waiting for her. I watched Elizaveta approach him, and then drove off. However, personally knowing the hostility that exists between the two I drove around to another area, hidden from view." He paused, taking a breath. "From there, though I couldn't hear anything, I saw Elizaveta lunge at Emil with a knife. They soon erupted into a physical fight, to a point that Emil seemed to finally snap and shot her once, walked around her body, and shot her again. At that point, I had managed to make it to the two and prevent any further violence." As Vash spoke, Lili nodded, agreeing with his words.

Bella sighed, and nodded to the screen. "Thank you. Having an outside-and unbiased-view helps. You are free to be dismissed." The Swiss and Liechtensteinerin nodded, and the video conference was ended. After making sure that she had properly turned everything off, the Belgian turned back to face the other nations. "Well, there you have it. Vash has confirmed that _both_ Emil and Elizaveta are at fault." She glanced between the two nations. "Do you two have any objections to what he said?"

* * *

Both Elizaveta and Emil kept their eyes on Vash and Lili on the screen, which then went over to Bella as the two were dismissed. To her question, Elizaveta slowly shook her head, murmuring a "no", while the Slovak simply didn't answer, though indicated that he had nothing against the Swiss's words rather than leaving an ambiguous response.

The Hungarian knew that she was the one who had started the chain of threats during her confrontation with Emil - but she didn't harm him, while Emil did. There was a rather clear gap to what they did, though Elizaveta wouldn't be surprised if she had some kind of consequence for her part. _Either way, Emil's surely going to get something for doing_ this _to me._ She remembered some of the nation's reactions when they came into the lobby and took a peek at how much the bandages had covered her arm and shoulder, and their expressions were terrified ones. They perhaps feared that she and her neighbor were soon going to start another war, like they had in the past. Elizaveta dreaded for the same thing, but even worse, she wasn't sure if she would be able to hold herself down from a brawl with Emil.

* * *

Bella waited for their responses, and seeing no objections, let out yet another sigh. "Well, I guess now all that is left is to decide on the consequences. Elizaveta," She turned to the Hungarian. "-you were the initiator, and for that you will have to face a punishment. Emil," She now turned to the Slovak."-you went as far to shoot her. Now, if once it may not have been seen as in bad of a light, but as you shot her _twice_, you will face reasonable punishment. Before that's decided, let's see how Nato views this." With that, Bella stepped back from the podium, motioning for Mathias to momentarily replace her position.

The Dane slowly rose and made his way to the front of the room. _Why did I have to be head at this time?_ He hated having to deal with these kind of things, especially since now it had something to do with Elizaveta. He could feel everyone staring at him intently, waiting to see what he had to say. He quietly and nervously gulped, and didn't make eye contact with anyone. The feeling in his stomach, which he had managed to ignore, suddenly took hold again, filling his body with dread. "As many of you know, Nato's focus is on bringing and maintaining peace." He never liked having to talk all formal and professional. "We may have started off as a military alliance, but now we use that part as a peacekeeping agency."

Ludwig then slowly raised his hand, and after receiving acknowledgement from Mathias, spoke up. "If I remember correctly-our Article 5 of our treaty states that 'an attack on any member shall be considered to be an attack on all'. What do you make of that?" The Dane grimaced. He knew that article well-it was the one thing that had been clawing at him more than anything else. He looked around the room, seeing a couple of Nato-member nations murmuring and quietly nodding, though all looking worried and some, terrified. However, he also noticed Milena glaring at the German, her eyes narrowed and clenching her teeth tightly. _Great. Let's just add more to this chaos._ The Czech held a deep set hatred towards Ludwig and his older brother Gilbert..._particularly_ Gilbert. It was much like the relation that Emil and Elizaveta shared. Clearing his throat, the Dane spoke up.

"Yes, we all know that article very well. But. . ." _But what?_ He glanced at Elizaveta, and had to look away quickly again before any emotion crept into his voice. "Seeing as _both_ Emil and Elizaveta are members...well, we can't exactly follow that, I believe." _Dammit...I was hoping I would have come up with something to say to that by now!_

* * *

Emil displayed a tenser frown, disliking Bella's stress of the importance of figures. He would have opened his mouth to shoot back some words, but seeing as she was president, he refrained, as it would be as if he was asking for an additional punishment. He waited for Mathias, for whom Elizaveta was worried for, to reach the podium; this discussion was focused on both the Slovak and herself. Since it involved her, the Dane could possibly be biased - not that she minded - but his decision may upset the other EU members. They surely could pick up Mathias's preference for her over Emil.

The other Nordics had the same trail of thought in their minds; Valdimar gave Mathias an emotionless glare from where he sat, attempting to use the telepathy he had with his brother with the Dane. _Don't side with Elizaveta just because you're with her._ Mathias's unusual but professional tone of voice told the Icelander that he wasn't sure what to do. Tino even discretely glanced at Berwald beside him and at Valdimar, reading their 'father's' uneasiness as well. The Icelandic nation felt that, at the moment, he was the only one able to come up with a resolution to this if the Nordics were to aid him. He started to use much of his brainpower, trying to solve the case while absorbing the German's words, and caught Mathias's look at the Hungarian. He saw her frown with much concern. _Dammit, Mathias._

Valdimar's hand shot up into the air. "Since both Emil and Elizaveta are members of NATO," he began using some of Mathias's words, offering an idea as a member of his organization, "'an attack on any member shall be considered to be an attack on all' would essentially become a civil war, as this article seems to be targeted for mainly non-NATO members. Of course, the purpose of NATO isn't to make war, but to maintain peace, so rather than taking this offensively, we should take it defensively." Quietly, Valdimar cleared his throat, gazing over to Mathias as if to seek approval and reassure that he could do something about it. "There should at least be more security measures for Elizaveta, if not restrain Emil of his usage of weapons. And if that's still insufficient, since Elizaveta's punishment isn't covered, strip both of them of their weapons or simply keep them away from each other."

* * *

Mathias felt like he could just go and tackle the Icelander into a tight hug the moment he began to speak. _That tension was ready to choke me..._ He had noticed the Nordics giving him looks, Berwald's expression as serious and intimidating as ever. He listened carefully to Valdimar, nodding at his words. He could see some of the nations shift slightly, glancing at each other and back to him. The Dane waited for the Icelandic nation to finish, and then cleared his throat quietly before replying.

"That is very true, Valdimar. Thank you." He turned to face the rest of the nations. "As he said, invoking that article will simply erupt as a civil war. That is the last thing we want." The next few words brought some pain to his heart, but he hid it and continued, voice emotionless except for its commanding tone. "As both Emil and Elizaveta face punishment, it would be best to currently revoke both of them of their weapons. As for keeping them away from each other...being neighbors, that would call for border control, which violates the Schengen Agreement."

Bella came and stood next to Mathias, nodding. "So the punishment has been decided on. Both Emil and Elizaveta's weapons shall be revoked until further notice-though Emil's will be revoked for a longer time." She stared directly at the Slovak, unfazed. "That means that no weapons are to be found on your personal bodies. Due to the Schengen Agreement, we cannot place border security...however, we will have Vash do a check once a week to make sure that nothing else erupts between you two." She took a breath. _I need a break._ "We will leave the rest of keeping you two away from each other to the Visegrd Group. Feliks, Milena, you two will be responsible for making sure that no threats that could lead to further violence are made, and that for the time being the two stay away from each other unless it is for strictly political matters. Understood?"

Both the Pole and the Czech nodded their heads slowly. Feliks pursed his lips, his eyebrows knit, while Milena showed a worried glance between the Hungarian and Slovak. "Understood." They both said at the same time. The Belgian sighed, and gathered a few papers on the podium and straightened them by tapping them against the podium's top. "Alright then. Decision reached. We'll take a break...I think we all need one. Be back in the conference room in twenty minutes." Bella dismissed the meeting, whispered a 'thanks' to Mathias, and strode off to the restroom. The Dane saw nations eagerly get up and leave the room, wanting to leave the heavy atmosphere. _Hopefully everything will calm down..._

* * *

Valdimar nodded slightly in return to the Dane, continuing to listen to Bella as she started speaking again. He scanned each nation's face – they didn't seem to be against their punishments. However, Elizaveta seemed to be emotionally hurt from Mathias, pain that seemed worse than the one she had now, though quickly threw it aside; he was only doing his job, making fair decisions for all nations. It was better for him to not be influenced by their personal relation.

When an intermission was called, Elizaveta spotted the Slovak immediately rising and disappearing out of the room; she was still amazed at how Emil didn't say a word, but had a gut feeling that he would later. The Hun soon stood up herself, finding that she needed a short walk to alleviate her heavy head, though Roderich again spoke with her.

"Since they're confiscating your weapons, you will need to keep a closer lookout for yourself, especially in public and around humans," he warned, his voice gentle as usual. "And that will mean that a nation or the police will search your house to see if you have any other weapons."

Elizaveta nodded, but then shook her head with a smile on her face. "I know, Roderich. Really, you need to stop worrying about me." For some reason, this scene looked all too familiar to her. Perhaps this was the second time she had to tell the Austrian this. "I'll be alright." Roderich then gave her a worried stare for a few seconds before, as he has done many times in the past, taking one of her hands and softly kissing it before departing.

She heaved a sigh once the aristocrat left her sight. _Searching my house...whoever is doing that, they won't be doing that so easily._ She frowned very slightly. _And that means I won't be able to use kitchen knives and cook for a while, either._ The Hungarian then searched the room for Mathias again, but then her eyes fell upon Valdimar; she did notice that the young boy, no matter how subtle it seemed, was helping Mathias with his leadership roles while he was standing at the podium. _I should thank him..._ With a somewhat forced smile, Elizaveta approached the Nordic, who gave his attention to her when she was a few feet away from him.

"Valdimar, is it?" Elizaveta questioned, in which he confirmed with a declining, vertical twitch of his head. "Thank you for backing up Mathias. I appreciate your reasonable suggestion as well."

Valdimar stared at her with some shock, surprised that she wasn't as aggressive as he thought she would be according to the number of intimidating stories he heard about her in the past. His eyes moved away from the Hungarian, shyly mumbling a "no problem". _And Mathias got together_ with her?

The Hun chuckled softly, amused by his reaction. _He's so cute!_ "Would you mind if I ask you to join dinner with me tonight, along with the others?" Her head beckoned to Tino, Berwald, and Mathias. "It's my treat."

The Icelandic nation was further stunned by her formalities. She _fell for –-_ "Um...sure," he answered with a bit more confidence, turning around to see if the other Nordics had overheard the conversation. They didn't seem to pick up their words. "If they're up for it."

* * *

Mathias also took note of Emil's quick exit, with Milena conversing shortly with Feliks before soon following after him. _He is being oddly quiet..._ He shook off the thought and turned his attention to Elizaveta, who had approached the Icelander. "Valdi saved y'there." The Dane whizzed around to face Berwald, whose arms were crossed and wearing his usual serious expression. "But glad y'didn't do somethin' stupid." Mathias scowled, looking away and mumbling. "Yeah yeah."

He approached the Hungarian, giving her an apologetic look, and whispered so only she could hear. "Sorry." He then looked to Valdimar, wondering what they were talking about. "Thanks, Valdi. I was expecting someone to bring that up but..." He trailed off, slightly frowning. "What's done is done." He sighed, glancing to the time. _Ten minutes left..._

* * *

Elizaveta swerved around to peer at Mathias, grinning forgivingly. "It's alright; I understand." _So he feels guilty about it..._ Her heart was rather enlightened from the thought. _Hopefully the two of us together won't continue affecting him in the future._

Tino was standing beside the Swede when he had confronted Mathias, smiling rather worriedly. _Sve's right - at least something bad didn't happen between Eli and Emil...for now._ He soon walked over to Valdimar, seeing what he was up to with the Hungarian. The Icelander blinked at the Finn for a moment and nodded to the Dane before murmuring, switching looks between Tino and Mathias, "Elizaveta asked us to dinner tonight. Are you guys up for it?"

The blonde haired nation blinked as well, having a reaction similar to Valdimar's when he was asked that question. "Oh, of course!" he replied, a little bit too happily than he should have. Personally, he was rather scared to eat out with her, but since Mathias was most likely going to accompany them, Tino was more willing to comply. But first, he had to assure himself. "Right, Mathias?" He twisted his head around to the remaining Nordic. "Berwald?" However, to his luck, Elizaveta didn't detect his hesitancy; she was quite glad that he accepted, which meant she could spend time with the other Nordics and get to know them better. _As long as I don't affect their family bond..._

* * *

Mathias blinked a couple of times, looking from the Hungarian, the Icelander, the Finn, and then the Swede. _She's asking us all to dinner. . .?_ Berwald had nodded silently, hearing the conversation, showing that he was okay with it. The Viking ran a hand through his hair, laughing quietly. "Yeah, sounds fine to me." He looked to Elizaveta with a mischievous grin. "Though, I'm warning you-we're one rowdy group." He heard Berwald scoff quietly, which only caused him to widen his grin. "Weren't known as troublemakers back in the day for nothing."

The other nations started slowly coming back into the conference room, murmuring quietly amongst themselves, though many of them looked towards the Viking and Hun. No doubt many were still surprised as well as curious about the pair, though due to Emil and Elizaveta's incident, it wasn't brought up, deciding it best to keep things serious and professional. Bella made her way to the front again, flipping through some papers as she preoccupied herself. The Dane looked to the time again. _Two minutes._ "I guess we better head back to our seats." He whispered, glancing around again at the room. Mathias brushed some hair out of Elizaveta's face, giving her a small smile, before going back to his seat, where next to it Berwald had already sat down.

The Belgian waited for everyone to be seated, then cleared her throat, calling everyone's attention, to which the room fell silent. "Before moving on, we must finish this case. Now that proper punishment has been carried out, we have to make sure that nothing will allow for a mishap. Therefore, both homes of the two will have to be searched thoroughly for weapons, all of which will be taken and locked away for a period of time." Bella paused, waiting for her comment to settle into everyone's minds, and then continued. "Knowing that we, as nations, like the privacy of our homes, I've decided it best that police not be brought into this matter. Therefore, a fellow nation will be assigned to search the homes."

"Won't that involve bias?" Arthur had spoken up, sitting straight in his chair, his hands folded in front of him. Bella nodded to the Englishman in acknowledgement, and saw several other nations glance at one another. "Yes, I've thought about that," The Belgian spoke clearly. "However, at the same time, if a nation that one of them trusts does it, there will be less conflict. Therefore, Milena," She turned to the Czech. "You will be responsible for searching Emil's home and confiscating any weapons or something that can be used as a lethal weapon, and keep them locked away in OSCE's office in Prague."

The Belgian turned her attention to Elizaveta. _Roderich or Mathias. . ._ She honestly wasn't sure which one to choose, but after seeing the Hun's attraction to the Viking the night before, she decided to go for the latter. "Mathias, the same goes for you. You shall search Elizaveta's home, and decide to either lock them away in OSCE's base with Roderich, or in OSCE's office in Copenhagen. You must inform me, though." Bella took a deep breath, looking around the room again. She saw the shifting of eyes and a couple of whispers. "That said, if _any_ weapons are later found in the homes before the time is up for their confiscation, all involved parties will be facing consequences. Is that clear?"

Mathias and Milena had made eye contact while glancing around the room. The Dane was surprised that he, not Roderich, was getting assigned to looking in the Hungarian's home (not that he minded), and after nodding to the Czech, both turned to the Belgian. "Clear."

* * *

Elizaveta smiled widely and chuckled melodically, incredibly pleased to be able to dine with them later that day. To Mathias's warning, she narrowed her eyes and looked up at him with a dark glint. Her voice was low and mischievous as she murmured. "You don't think I know that already?" That single question Valdimar's ears picked up made his brain click into place, experiencing a lit light bulb moment. _Her answer..._that's _why he fell for her. And knowing Mathias, he has a side like that too..._ His face twitched slightly. _If I think of Hungary as just another one of those typical motherly, caring women, I'd better think again._

As Mathias reminded them to sit back down, Valdimar agreed with another nod, then left the small group to get to his chair. _But wait - wasn't it usually us who told Mathias to come back to his seat?_ He glanced back once, viewing the Dane with the Hungarian, then shook his head. _How much can a girl change him?_

Elizaveta nodded as well to Mathias's words, frowning slightly and closing her eyes as his fingers fixed her hair. "You're right." She leaned in towards him to peck his lips, but realized that she was in front of the EU and immediately backed away; it was difficult for her to resist, and if she was as careless as...perhaps Gilbert, she would have kissed the Dane anyways. However, she was to represent herself properly and couldn't risk her image - the Dane had left before her to get back to the meeting anyways. Hoping that no one had caught that, the Hungarian finally retreated to her seat, next to the punctual-as-always Roderich.

Emil soon settled down in his seat, again not recognizing the Hun with any sort of look; he appeared calmer than before, in which Elizaveta assumed that Milena had tried to talk it over with the Slovak. Again, she paid attention to Bella as she continued to settle the case. For Milena to search Emil's home, she wasn't surprised. However, for her part, Elizaveta didn't expect Bella to entrust Mathias yet - actually, it probably would have been better if she chose Roderich to search her home. _Who knows what Mathias will want to do._ However, she complied to it anyways, murmuring a "clear" after the Slovak did.

* * *

_**A/N:**_

_Holyyyy crap. Sorry for the SUPER SUPER DELAY IN GETTING THESE UP. We've been super busy as of late and kind of neglected the FF account. orz  
So to make up for that, I'm going to upload up to chapter 36, where we currently are! Sorry for the delay!;;_

_A bit of history for Czechia - here, it's said that she has pretty much a grudge towards Prussia and Germany. It's like the impact that Hungary had on Slovakia in the past, during Magyarization when she tried to make Hungarian culture and language dominant there - in this case, Germany/Prussia did the same thing to Czechia, except...well, the German way, also known as Germanization. Having talked with some Czechs and Slovaks, I (Amerzt) found out that to this day, Czechs do still dislike Germans and Slovaks do hate Hungarians-of course, that's stereotypically and generally speaking. I guess it's better to say Czech nationals and Slovak nationals...but..yeah. The past can be a horrifying place, and many are not willing to forgive for atrocities that did occur decades if not centuries ago. _


	34. Chapter 33

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 33**

* * *

Bella smiled as no chaos seemed to erupt, letting out a satisfied sigh and a single nod. "Good. Well then, moving on. . ." The Dane leaned back in his seat, after a while losing his focus on the rest of the meeting (as usual) with his attention span. After what seemed like ages, with another couple of breaks in between-where he conversed with several different nations, some about political matters, the others curious about his relationship with Elizaveta-they were finally dismissed. "We made significant progress today. Thank you, everyone, and see you bright and early tomorrow morning~!" Bella chirped. She looked much more relaxed than the day before, happy that the issue between Emil and Elizaveta had been taken care of.

Mathias got up and stretched, straightening out his back due to his slouching during the meeting. Berwald rolled his eyes and shook his head, making sure he had everything he needed. The Dane looked to the others, and then made his way towards the Hungarian. Once he approached her, he smiled, and murmured softly. "How are you feeling?" It had been a long day, and the room had taken on an orange glow as the sun made its way, though still a couple of hours from setting.

* * *

As Elizaveta allowed the fact that her problem had been finally set aside to sink in, she rested against her chair for a moment to let her stress escape her body. She sneaked a glance over to the Slovak as well; he seemed to be focused on Bella and his partner Milena more than her, his intimidating aura disappearing. _Knowing him, he would rather talk about other countries than about himself._ Elizaveta could probably apply the same thing to herself.

During the remainder of the time in the meeting, the Hungarian did bother to listen to Bella - her voice was surely cheery and kept her awake, not that Bella was annoying or she disliked her or anything. It was simply that she didn't want to catch herself nearly falling asleep several times like she did with Arthur's monotone, dull voice. However, restlessness was inevitable with the condition she was in, and so she started yawning every once in a while. Elizaveta would also look over to the Nordic side of the table to see how Mathias was doing, and not to her surprise, he wasn't so absorbed in the meeting. She would smile at that sight, but it would quickly disappear from her lips in fear that someone would witness her.

When the meeting was done for the day, Elizaveta found herself hit with lethargy, unable to stand up from sitting down for so long. Luckily, she was able to kick herself onto her feet when her eyes came upon Mathias and remembered that she had planned to eat dinner with the Nordics. She herself came up to the Dane as he walked to her. "Better," she answered with a small smile, flexing an arm very slowly. "I'm not feeling as much pain in my arms, but it's most likely because I'm getting used to it." Her eyes scanned his face, then she chuckled. "You're still awake, right?"

Tino soon hopped over to the couple, with Valdimar behind him, who was taking his time to catch up. "_Hei_, Mathias; _hei_, Eli!" The Finn seemed happy himself, feeling glad that the Hungarian didn't get into a big mess with Emil during the conference. "Should we head out to dinner now?"

* * *

Mathias laughed at her question, shaking his head. "I think I am. My eyes are open, aren't they?" He grinned. "But glad to know you're at least feeling better." The Dane then turned his attention to the other Nordics, as Berwald also joined the Icelander and Finn, though keeping silent. "_Hej_, Tino. You're yourself as always, even after a long meeting." He joked. "And I guess if you're all okay with heading out for dinner straight from here, that's fine with me." Mathias saw Berwald simply nod, who seem too preoccupied with curiously staring at the Finn. _I will never understand him sometimes._

Instead of waiting for a proper answer from everyone, he led the group out of the conference room. He could see that some of the nations had already left the building, while some hung around and gossiped, the tension from the morning a thing of the past. Mathias was glad that the relaxed atmosphere had settled back in, and once again turned to the others. "If no one is planning to go and change, we can head out right now. There's a good place just a little walk from here."

* * *

Elizaveta softly laughed to Mathias's response, then turned to Tino as he chuckled, grinning. "There's no reason to be unhappy after that!" His head twisted around to share his smile with the Swede, but as usual, Berwald wasn't too amused and his expression somewhat frightened the Finn, who then inched away a bit. The Hungarian watched Tino interact with the tall Nordic, letting dirty thoughts come into her head again, but then shook her head. _Not here!_ She had a feeling that Valdimar saw her staring at the two, but hopefully he didn't know how her brain worked, so she had a good chance of escaping.

Realizing that Mathias was taking lead of his group (of course, _he_ wanted to take charge), Elizaveta followed closely behind him, then nodded to his words. "I'm fine in this." She didn't hear an answer from either Tino or Valdimar, assuming that they had nothing against going now - but when she turned around to double check, they weren't behind her. Elizaveta stopped in the middle of her track to look around for the two; however, she didn't worry for too long as they quickly exited a room nearby, the Finn holding Hanatamago and the Icelander his puffin.

"Sorry about that!" Tino apologized at complete heart, chasing after Mathias and Elizaveta alongside Valdimar. "We have to leave our pets with a caretaker while we're in meeting. But we got them now, so we're ready to go!"

Again, the Hungarian laughed musically. "It's alright." She caught back up to the Viking ahead, slipping her arm around his. "I think we're set," she reported to him, grinning with excitement.

* * *

Mathias enjoyed hearing the Hungarian's laugh-the way it filled the air and sounded like a song. It seemed so foreign to him, to the point where he wished he could just bottle it up as if it were a treasure. He waited for the Icelander and Finn, giving the puffin a wary stare. Berwald petted the dog held in Tino's arms, his expression turning a bit soft. The Dane returned Elizaveta's smile, gladly allowing their arms to be hooked together, and set off. "Okay then. Let's go!" He glanced to the others again, and then left the building, heading down the street.

After a few minutes, he stopped outside a pair of doors, the outer appearance of the restaurant highlighted in all its grandeur. He made sure everyone was together, and then entered the restaurant. The host immediately grinned and welcomed the newcomers. "Welcome! Party of five?" He looked around at them, counting. "Follow me this way." The host led them to a large, circular table in the corner. "Please be seated. Your waiter will be with you shortly." He gave each of them a menu, and went off.

* * *

The three others followed along, energized by Mathias's usual demeanor - Valdimar, though expressionless, walked eagerly along, curious about Elizaveta's personality; Tino ambled up to Berwald's pace, nervously smiling because of the Swede's still-horrifying face; and of course, the Hungarian was always beside the Dane whenever she could be, finding her happiness to be nowhere else but with him.

As they entered the restaurant and came over to their table, Elizaveta sat in one chair beside Valdimar, with Tino across from her. While reading the menu and hunting down a dish of interest, she looked among the Nordics. "So you guys are troublemakers, hm?" she questioned, rather challengingly. "The only troublemaker I've seen out of this group is Mathias...and say, someone's missing..."

"Eirik," Valdimar jumped in, nodding. "He's not a part of the EU." He put a hand to his mouth, his eyes narrowing as he skimmed through the selection of foods in the menu, barely smirking. "But you haven't been around us long enough to see that."

Tino grinned rather guiltily. "It's not that bad. They just want to have some fun." He started yelping as he felt Hanatamago squirming in his arms, staring with alarm at the small dog. Understanding that it wanted to go somewhere, the Finn opened up his arms, allowing the dog to hop off of his legs and scurry over to the Hungarian, pawing rapidly at the chair's leg and barking a few times. Elizaveta blinked down at the animal, smiling before carefully bending over to pick it up.

"I would have guessed that much," Elizaveta chuckled, setting Hanatamago on her lap and petting its head. Then she felt something on her own head, with not much weight and some pokes. Her eyes went over to the Icelander, wondering if his puffin was with him. No black bird in sight. _It's on my head, then..._ The Hun leaned down to the puppy, her nose meeting its tiny one as she cutely talked to it, "A certain dog wants some attention, doesn't it~?"

* * *

"_They_? Tino, don't exclude yourself." Mathias chuckled, looking through the menu. Berwald sat next to Tino, across from the Dane, and simply shook his head, busy trying to find something to eat. Mathias suddenly perked up when both the dog and bird focused their attention on the Hungarian. He laughed quietly as she played with Hanatamago, smiling. _Depends on your definition of dog._ He then eyed the puffin on her head. _I don't trust that thing._ "Be careful, Eli. Even cute things can be dangerous."

A waiter appeared at their table, greeting them and going through the usual formalities. After taking their drink orders, he went off, leaving the nations more time to decide on the food. Mathias stared at the menu for some time before putting it down, sighing. "I've decided." He leaned back in his seat, glancing around the dining area. _It seems busy as usual..._

* * *

Tino chuckled back at Mathias, not speaking a word to reply to him; he couldn't argue against him, since he did - but not too often - join his Nordic brothers in a number of harmless pranks. Though he trusted that his dog would eventually return to him, the Finn continued monitoring the animal as it wagged its tail, entertaining itself with the woman. Something then struck Tino, causing him to smile and say, "I think Hanatamago is excited to have a girl as a visitor. We aren't close to any female nation..."

"I wouldn't be surprised. Some animals do have gender preferences," Elizaveta chuckled, still facing Hanatamago. She then teased, "Are you really dangerous? You're just looking for girls, aren't you?"

In a quick second that Elizaveta couldn't exactly follow what happened during that time, she felt a pull on her hair and some movement on her lap, and didn't realize that the dog had removed her flower hair accessory until it scurried onto Mathias's lap, clenching it between its teeth. Hanatamago leaned its head as far back as it could to look up at the Dane's face, its small eyes glinting and hoping for fun; the Hungarian frowned, about to snatch the dog and rightfully take back her flower, but instead played along, realizing that this was what Mathias meant.

"Alright, play that way," she murmured lowly and sinisterly, specifically to the pet, as she fixed her hair with her hands. _And Valdimar's puffin hasn't done anything, yet it might soon..._ Elizaveta read through the menu once again, the black bird still nesting on her head, then mentally chose a particular dish. Attempting to start a conversation, she questioned the Nordics, "Do you eat out like this often?"

* * *

Mathias's attention was suddenly brought back to the table as the dog appeared in his lap. He blinked at it, staring at the flower he held in between his teeth, and glanced at the Hungarian. He chuckled, ruffling up the fur on Hanatamago's head. "I told you." His fingers brushed the petals of the flower, and scolded the dog. "Now, is that any way to treat a lady?" The Dane gently pulled the pin out of the dog's mouth, wiped it off with a napkin (though there was no evident drool on it), and then offered it to the Hun. "I'm not sure if you want to put it back in your hair."

Berwald was surprisingly the one to answer Elizaveta's question before the others could. "No. Jus' when w'happen t'get t'gether." The Swede spoke as he stared down at the menu, his serious expression unchanging. He finally decided on what to have and set the menu down, just in time as the waiter came back with the ordered drinks to each of them, accompanied with a glass of water. He then took their orders before departing once more, seeming unfazed by the pets. Mathias's finger tapped on the cup of beer he had, glancing at the Hungarian, and eyed the puffin once more. "Valdi, should that thing really be out here?"

* * *

Hanatamago yapped once as if to retort to Mathias's scold, though continued flapping its tail back and forth like a rapid windshield wiper, apparently not guilty for its actions. The Hungarian nearby was distracted by Berwald for a moment, nodding with understanding. _At least it's better than having none at all._ She could relate that thought to herself, but tossed it aside before it would emotionally affect her.

Elizaveta then shot a dark glare at the dog, remembering that her hair piece was seized by the animal. Not finding it in its mouth anymore, she spotted Mathias's approaching hand, then cautiously accepted the accessory, closely examining it and rubbing the petals for any excess saliva. "Well, it didn't slobber or gnaw all over it, right? I'll be okay with it." _Hopefully, without getting too disturbed._ Her eyes strained to look out of the corners of their sockets, watching her hands fix her hair and set the flower back into place. She heard Tino chuckle nervously on the other side of the table, apologizing sincerely, "Sorry!" The Hun gently shook her head, murmuring, "It's no problem, Tino."

Valdimar stared at Mathias for a moment, unamused. _You're a complete idiot at home, yet here..._ He shook his head slightly. _I really wonder if he's just trying to keep a good reputation with Elizaveta or if he's really changing._ After being momentarily interrupted to order their food, he turned to Mathias, only glancing once at his bird. "It's not going to do anything bad. If anything, it'll do more good than you will, Mathias," he teased, though with his usual emotionless tone of voice.

* * *

Mathias laughed at Valdimar's comment. "Thanks, Valdi. I'm flattered." He shook his head, petting the dog in his lap. "So I'm below the standards of a puffin? Is that under a dog, too?" He grinned, taking a sip from his beer. He looked to the Hungarian again, who seemed perfectly fine with the puffin settling on her head. _I'd have knocked the thing off by now._ Berwald scoffed, and nodded. "Mat'ias, y're even lower than that." The Swede's expression remained unchanged as he spoke, though he stared directly at the Dane.

"Oh, shut it, Berwald." Mathias whined, sticking out his tongue at him. "Of course you'd be one to say that." He frowned slightly, and looked down at the dog again, stroking its head, and murmured to the dog: "See, Berwald doesn't think you're worth a thing? Pretty mean, huh?"

* * *

"That's right," Valdimar confirmed bluntly, while watching Mathias take down a bit of his beer. Whenever the Dane decided to drink, the Icelander always kept track of the amount of alcoholic beverages he drank and, if he ever got bored enough to, he would predict when Mathias would get drunk, when he would pass out, and see if he broke his old drinking record. Unfortunately, Valdimar's life around him was just like that. He couldn't hold back a good laugh from Berwald's comment, in which both Elizaveta and Tino joined in.

"Someone seems to be getting childish," the single female nation noted, chuckling. _Is this how he acts around them?_ Again, she set her eyes on Hanatamago, who was now whimpering and squirming slightly in Mathias's lap. Elizaveta cocked her head to the side a bit (and somehow the puffin seemed to be glued onto her head, like a hat), curious about what it could want and unable to read its strange behavior. She was startled enough to see the dog run in a circle on the Dane before returning into its owner's arms. A frown came upon her face. "I think it got the idea that _you_ were saying that it was worthless..."

* * *

Mathias rolled his eyes as the others laughed. "Yeah, hilarious, you guys." The Dane was used to such comments (and reactions), seeming to be the victim for the other Nordics' jokes. However, he couldn't help but grin at Elizaveta's comment, though before he could retort looked down in surprise at the dog in his lap. He slightly frowned as it ran back off to Tino, then shook his head. "Dogs. Can never understand them."

"J'st like you. Then ag'n, that's what y'are." Berwald calmly stated, his eyes closed as he sipped his own drink. This time, however, Mathias just displayed a wide grin, chuckling lowly. "Takes one to know one, Waldy." The Swede raised an eyebrow at the Dane, unamused by the nickname, and was about to retort when the waiter arrived with their dishes. He placed the appropriate order in front of its recipient, and refilled the glasses of water. "Enjoy!" He twirled around and walked off to his next waiting table.

* * *

"_Sve!_ Mathias!" The Finn lightly scolded, though wore another one of his nervous smiles as he glanced among the other North European countries. Hanatamago had began yapping, and Tino had to rub its head to calm it down. "Don't get into an argument here, will you? Valdi, you shouldn't be smirking either." Valdimar, however, kept on that expression for a moment longer before it curled down into a frown; he enjoyed it when Mathias was made fun of, since it was as if he got payback for what the Dane did to him and the others in the past. He and the Finnish nation then began eating their meals, as well as Hanatamago, who was being fed by Tino.

Elizaveta herself let out a good laugh, then leaned slightly over to Mathias, grinning while pinching his cheeks. "I agree, this Dane here is a dog - whining, being needy, wanting attention, causing trouble..." Before he would complain about her distorting his face, the Hungarian withdrew back to her own space, raising some food to her mouth with a fork to satisfy her starving stomach. However, as she felt some weight shift on her head, Elizaveta lowered her utensil, looking up as if to glare at the puffin on her head.

"Trying to leech off of me, aren't you?" she muttered to the bird. Beside her, she heard Valdimar snicker lowly and quietly. Her eyes settled on the Icelander. "So this is what happens when you guys are together."

* * *

Mathias was about to tell Tino to not worry when he found his cheeks being pinched and stretched by the Hungarian. "_Uffff_! Ehli!" He knitted his eyebrows as she spoke, and the moment she finally let go he rubbed his cheeks, muttering an "ow" and shooting her a look. He heard the others snicker and chuckle quietly, and let out a small huff. "Well, _so-rry_. Don't forget you're the one who is attracted to this "dog"-so what does that say about you?" He smirked at her before taking a few bites from his own food. Mathias then glanced over, and saw the puffin, and heard Valdimar's snicker. He couldn't help but chuckle himself, and shook his head. "Oh, you don't know the half of it."

The waiter came by now and then to see how they were doing, giving them all a large smile, and would be off to perform his other duties. The Dane leaned back after a bit, holding his glass of beer in one hand, which was actually his third as the waiter had come by and kept refilling it. He tapped his fingers on the glass, looking down at the table and everyone's dishes. "Well, I'm done. How about you guys?" Berwald nodded, dabbing his mouth with a napkin before putting it back down. Mathias rolled his eyes at how it seemed the Swede tried to make himself seem much more dignified than the Dane. He looked to the others with a questioning glance. "Well?"

* * *

"That makes me your owner." Elizaveta spoke in such a defiant manner that she had to present a bold smile. Again, her eyes shifted up to glare at the puffin once more before wildly rattling her head to shake off the bird, which cackled for a moment before flapping its way back to Valdimar. The owner laughed softly and also started to feed the animal. On the meanwhile, Elizaveta was finally able to chow down her own food without any interference of the Nordics' animals. _It better stay that way, too._

A biteful later, Tino nodded his head in agreement to Mathias's words. "I'm pretty bloated! I'm sure Hanatamago is too." He chuckled as his fingers scratched the dog's fur lightly, teasing it; Valdimar had finished a while ago, not having the biggest stomach at the moment. From process of elimination, the two Nordics knew that Elizaveta was left and turned their attention to her. To their surprise, she had cleaned her plate quickly - and even more surprising, she was on her feet, moving out and away from the table. As the Hun paced around the Nordics and headed off to the cashier, she answered to Mathias with a rather mischievous grin, "Well, money's on me. I'll be back."

Valdimar and Tino exchanged a questioning glance, wondering how she finished her food at such a rate, then the Finn murmured, "We should have paid, but I guess we can't stop her." He glanced back once to look at Elizaveta, checking where she was before turning to Mathias. "Can we pull a prank on her?"

* * *

Mathias looked around again, and also stared at the Hungarian's plate. _Well, considering the size of her breakfasts. . ._ But then he snapped his head in her direction as she walked off. "Eli!" He huffed, then sighed, leaning back in his seat. He didn't want to cause a commotion by fighting with her as to who paid the bill. _I'll get back at her for that later..._ The Dane then looked over to the Finn, absorbing his words. _Pull a prank. . .?_ The Swede looked at Tino with a little of surprise, though otherwise didn't seem too stunned by his question.

Mathias burst into laughter, and grinned at them. "So you guys really haven't changed." He glanced once over in the direction that the Hungarian had headed, then nodded to the other Nordics. "Sure, as long as it's not something _that_ bad." Berwald raised an eyebrow at him, looking once around the table. "Ye w're the one who pull'd the dang'rous ones." The only response he received from that was the Dane's devilish and smug grin. "You know it, Waldy." Mathias then looked to the other two, wondering if Tino had a plan. "So? What do you want to do?"

* * *

Elizaveta twisted her body around slightly as she strode over to the cashier, taking a peek at the family to make sure none of the members were yelling or chasing after her. She heard Mathias's call at the very least - which was no surprise to her; she ignored him anyways, though with a grin, and turned back around before she would bump into anyone by accident.

Unfortunately, her arm did bump into someone else's, causing her nerves to send pain signals centered around her wound. Elizaveta winced and looked up at the other with guilty and honest eyes, chirping out of habit, "I'm sorr-"

She cut herself off as she realized that her eyes had met with fierce purple ones, eyes that were all too familiar with her as she had lived with this pair of eyes for far too long. Not knowing how (or even why) she got into this position, the Hungarian found herself hovering over the ground, body in the air, clothes choking the back of her neck when a handful of her dress was pulled at to levitate her in the air. The other spat words out into her face.

"You thought you could get away with badmouthing me, didn't you, Elizaveta?"

Her eyes immediately returned a glare just as deadly as his, not giving recognition to the growing crowd and attention; she would have allowed her defensive side to take care of the attacker, but her brain convinced her motor functions otherwise, telling her to refrain herself from violence. She calmly but lowly murmured, "Emil, put me down, and this scene won't turn into something worse." Elizaveta could feel her body struggling to keep herself elevated.

"All moves on the board are seen - nothing can be hidden from either player's view," the Slovak hissed back, disregarding her words for peace. "You've made your move. Guess whose turn is next?"

Tino, on the meanwhile, had began pondering about a possible trick they could pull off on the Hungarian, staring up at the ceiling and tapping at his chin as Hanatamago squirmed around excitedly, eager to help out and see their plans play out. "Hmm...maybe..."

"Maybe not now," Valdimar jumped in with an urgent tone of voice, immediately rising from his chair as he witnessed Emil's potential threat to Elizaveta. His puffin _caw_ed in alarm on the table, flapping its wings with worry and unease. _We weren't assigned to watch out for those two, but...we can't just let something like this happen without doing anything._

* * *

Mathias observed Tino, letting the others think of whatever prank they wanted to pull, but looked at the Icelander in surprise as he stood. _What..._ He turned around to see what had grabbed Valdimar's attention, and his eyes widened as his heart nearly stopped. Of all things, this was one thing he definitely was not expecting and neither wanted to happen.

_Lort._

He stood up, looking around as he saw the two bitter nations had attracted attention from the other patrons. Some of the waiters had backed up, looking at each other nervously, not sure what to do. The manager was about to march over and say something to them, but he halted the moment he recognized a different air about them. Mathias looked on grimly. _They're recognizing they're nations...they won't want to interfere..._ He looked to the other Nordics, seeing that Berwald had also stood up, and glanced around with uncertainty. _We have to do something about it._ Mathias made his way over to them, calling out: "Emil, put her down. There is no reason to start something here."

At that moment, a girl came out of the restroom, and perked up as she saw the attention of the customers in one direction. As her eyes settled on what was causing the commotion, her eyes widened. _Oh no._ The Czech quickly and swiftly made her way to the other nations, a feeling of dread filling her. Milena put a hand on the Slovak's shoulder, squeezing it gently, and saying in a quiet and calm voice. "_Milčku_, please. Not here."

* * *

Hanatamago perked up, detecting the danger with its keen senses, and hopped down from his owner's lap to scamper over to the Slovak, despite Tino calling out for it. The animal let out high pitched but sneering barks, pawing at the nation's leg as if to order him to release Elizaveta. Emil had glanced back at Milena, who had also insisted that he stop, but only muttered to her, "Stay back." Noticing that the dog was also nagging for his attention, Emil kicked it away, in which the Finn then quickly retrieved Hanatamago before his pet would further be harmed. His deep, purple eyes scanned among the approaching Nordics, slightly cocking an eyebrow, amused by their intense gazes.

"Didn't think it was true that you'd recruit so many pawns in just a few days," he muttered to the Hungarian, who had not broken her cold glare. Cruelly, Emil continued, a smirk creeping onto his face, "Not like they'd do any good for you. I'd knock them off before they could reach the other side of the board."

"Shut it," Elizaveta snapped, again feeling the temptation of her muscles to fight back. Her legs dangled in the air, paddling ever so slightly as if to see if she was able to reach the ground. "Leave them out of this. But as Mathias said, put me down - you're going to hurt yourself in the end."

After scoffing rudely, Emil tossed the Hun onto the ground, as if no longer interested in her; as Elizaveta regained her balance, Tino and Valdimar running to her side, the Slovak came up to the Dane, also giving him his stare, as if challenging him. His height didn't intimidate him - after all, their heights nearly matched, though Mathias had won by an inch or two. He murmured, once again as if nothing had happened, "However, I'm surprised that you got the supposed 'king' of Northern Europe on your side." Emil narrowed his eyes, scowling quietly and lowly, now addressing Mathias. "But you should make sure your queen doesn't abuse her power or talk shit about others right in front of their faces."

* * *

Milena knit her eyebrows as her eyes narrowed, upset now that Emil wasn't listening to her, even if it wasn't a big surprise given the situation. She winced as the Hungarian hit the ground, and her eyes glanced around once more. There were murmurs throughout the crowd, with many people looking on in fear, the employees of the restaurant completely at a loss of what to do. _Fantastic._

The Dane was about to dash to Elizaveta as she was tossed to the ground, but halted as he saw Tino and Valdimar go to her aid and Emil approaching him. Berwald now held onto Hanatamago, his own intimidating air scaring off more of the patrons. He looked sharply at Mathias, who understood that he was sending him a message. Mathias stood still and straight, looking the Slovak directly in the eye, his own now cold blue ones meeting his blazing violet. He had to do his best to keep calm, as much as he would have liked to take a punch at him for his recent action.

"Thanks for the recognition." His voice was cool and smooth, not showing any of his anger or frustration. "But I don't think you need to worry about that. She hasn't said a single thing about you, though I don't know if I can say the same thing for you." His eyes narrowed. "Now, I suggest that you leave things as they are. Do you really want to start something more after...?" He glanced at Elizaveta, obviously referring to the night that Emil had shot her.

Milena in the meanwhile had approached Emil, not wanting him to start anything either. She grasped onto his arm, hugging it as she spoke urgently and lowly in Czech, knowing very well that the Slovak could understand her. "Please, stop! I thought we talked about this, Emil. You're only making things worse for yourself!" Her voice and eyes begged him, not even once glancing at Mathias, who just watched, obviously unable to understand what was being said.

* * *

Emil had opened his mouth, about to answer the Dane with words that weren't much of a compromise. Milena, however, did cut him off as he opened his mouth, which shut again unwillingly. His jaw twitched irritably, eyes staring back at Milena as if wanting to retort; once decided, he scowled to Mathias, "Fine. Just keep _her_-" He flicked his head towards Elizaveta, who was gently grasping her shoulder and had already cleaned herself. "-away from me." Then his eyes narrowed even more, flickering between the Nordics. "And your little gay friends." Emil swiftly turned around, leaving the scene.

Both Tino's and Valdimar's hearts sank. The two Nordics were left stunned and offended, staring wide-eyed at the Slovak. While recovering their composure, the two of them looked over to Mathias and Berwald, wondering what their reactions were. Valdimar knitted his eyebrows, nearly breaking out of his cool shell to roar back at the Slovak, but his logic got the better of him and decided to ignore it; though, Elizaveta was surely enraged. Normally, she wouldn't have minded a comment like that, as she would daze away into her dream world. But the way Emil muttered his words angered her, finding it unacceptable and ironic that _he_ was now badmouthing _them_. The Hungarian was amazed that she hadn't jumped at Emil as she murmured lowly and dangerously, "You just didn't."

* * *

Milena let out a quiet sigh of relief when her significant other seemed to listen and leave the others alone, but instantly froze at his last muttered words. _Oh Emil..._ Mathias's eyes had also widened, not expecting the nation to even acknowledge the others. Berwald stiffened, his intimidating aura only intensifying as he glared at the Slovak, who was making his way to get away from the others. The Swede kept himself calm, though was also tempted to snap at him, and instead sharply glanced at the Dane. Mathias's hands had curled into fists, eyes narrowing, and himself was to retort if it wasn't for hearing the Hungarian do so first. "...Now that was just being fucking bitchy."

The Czech winced, who had trailed after Emil, looking around worriedly. _Great, now he's made the rest of them angry too. . ._ She whispered lowly to him, frowning: "You don't need to make more enemies, _milčku_. Apologize and then let's go."

* * *

"_Bitchy?_" Emil stressed, swerving back around to face Mathias, his expression the same as before when he had challenged him earlier. His head was tilted back slightly, displaying dominance and power, and his hands dove into his pockets while his feet led him back to the Dane - apparently, his ears had filtered out Milena and Emil continued to push the boundaries. "I only say that because it's true."

"You _hypocritical bastard_!" Elizaveta screamed, her voice harsh and grating. Tino and Valdimar leaped into the air from surprise because of Elizaveta's blossoming rage - they didn't dare touch her in fear that she would struggle back for freedom, but had a feeling that they would constrain her anyways. The two had done that plenty of times with Mathias when he went insane in the past. "I told you _to leave them out of this_-"

"Are you the one to tell me what to do?" the Slovak sneered back, his voice resonating louder throughout the restaurant. The other customers were petrified, watching the drama grow between the nations. "_You_ were the one who added them onto the chessboard by getting into a relationship with this 'king'." Quietly, he added, "I wonder who in the world would fall for you. I'm surprised that Roderich did too-"

"Enough!" Tino stepped in, his voice strong and determined. He hated wars, fights, arguments, and any of the sorts. If he could give a shot at ending this one, he would definitely try. "No nation wants another war. That's why we set up those rules for you two today." His blue eyes contacted the Czech's, serious but soft. "Please, Milena, take him before things get worse."

* * *

Mathias tensed as Emil approached him once again, glaring at the Slovak as he grit his teeth. It was becoming increasingly hard to hold himself back, and he might have been able to, if it wasn't for the Hungarian's outburst. He looked to Elizaveta before again at Emil as he responded. _That does it._ Ignoring Tino, whose mention of war sparked worried and fearful murmurs throughout the crowd, the Dane muttered dangerously back to the Slovak: "Like you're one to talk. I'm finding it hard to believe that someone would fall for _you_."

Milena had returned Tino's gaze with an apologetic one, ready to drag Emil out before anything else could happen. However, she perked up at Mathias's words, and narrowed her eyes as she wrapped her arms around the Slovak defensively, glaring at the Dane. She glanced once at Elizaveta, trying herself not to let her anger get the best of her (but found herself to be failing), and spat back. "Maybe you should read up on some history before judging others." Mathias blinked at the Czech, a bit surprised to see her like this. He frowned slightly, wondering what she could have meant by that, and was about to speak again when it was Berwald's turn to step in.

"Didn't ye here Tino? St'p it. This isn' g'nna solve anythin'." His deep voice rang out, his gaze so intense that customers edged away even more. Some patrons seemed like they wanted to leave, quietly edging towards the door, but at the same time wanted to see what would happen.

* * *

Valdimar hoped that Tino's words would be the last of the fight, but he flinched as he heard Mathias continue on with the verbal exchange. His eyes darted around - at this point, all of the nations, including his Nordic brothers, were involved in this. He couldn't step back now; plus, he had a gut feeling that the Dane would take this too far, as he did so many times in the past. "Mathias, don't," the Icelander warned, silently praying that he would get his message. Tino was glad that he wasn't the only one making effort to keep peace and nodded in congruence.

The peacemakers proved themselves fruitless; Elizaveta was wanting to kill Emil more than anything else at the moment and the Slovak replied to the Dane, further fueling the fire after eying Milena once more, "You have no idea what that bitch did to me. If you're going to judge me, go re-educate yourself or ask your queen yourself first."

"Then why the hell are you calling them names when you know nothing of their past either?" Elizaveta spat. She was surely in her Hun mode now - with what she knew about the Scandinavian countries, they didn't deserve that kind of treatment. If anything, Emil was saying that only because they had a connection with her. She was just about to open her mouth once more until Emil had taken something out of his jacket and pointed it at the Hungarian; he was wielding the same gun that had shot Elizaveta just some while ago and, since he and his house had not been searched for weapons yet, he still had it in his possession. Emil threatened, "Shut up, you fucking piece of shit, or else this gun sets off on you again."

* * *

Shrieks and gasps erupted throughout the restaurant at the sight of the weapon in the Slovak's hand. Some children began crying and were being sheltered by their parents as others frantically looked around, most scurrying backwards and far from the group of nations. Others were whipping out their phones, texting or making calls, and Berwald was pretty sure there was a group of journalists rapidly taking down some notes.

The Dane had to restrain himself from lunging at the Slovak, knowing that one move could easily make him shoot the gun off. "Put the gun down, Emil." His voice was low and serious, as his eyes flickered between Emil, the gun, and Elizaveta. Berwald had also taken a step back, his body tense. Mathias slowly raised his hands, now keeping his gaze fixed on the Slovak. "Put it down. We don't need nor want to start anything."

Milena also looked at Emil in surprise, though frowned as she realized she should have known better. She gently masked his hand with hers, and forcing his finger away from the trigger, lowered his arm, whispering to him: "Emil, _please_. I don't want anything happening to you." The Czech looked around, knowing that from everyone else's point of view, her lover was in the bad light. She slipped the gun out of his grasp, instead tucking it away under her skirt, and eying him, moved so that she was now standing in front of him. "I'm sorry." She paused, then after sighing quietly, she looked Mathias directly in the eye. "However, I would listen to Emil." Her voice had a cool edge to it, and she glanced at Elizaveta. "You might want to learn something."

Mathias frowned, though was relieved to see the gun out of the Slovak's hand. He also looked to the Hungarian. _What are they talking about. . ._ However, the Dane was still enraged from Emil's actions against Elizaveta, and slightly raised his voice as he spoke: "I'll do what I-"

"_Mat'ias._" Berwald interrupted, sending an intense glare in the Dane's direction. He glanced at the other two Nordics, and then also stepped in front of the Dane before he could do or say something idiotic. "Please. I th'nk it best if ever'one jus' goes back t'our res'den'cies." His look that managed to scare off so many skimmed across the room, looking at all of the nations except for the Dane, who was behind him.

* * *

Emil watched his partner cover his hand with hers, his grip immediately loosening on the gun and thus allowing the Czech to move his hand wherever his controller pleased. As the weapon slipped out of his hand, he scowled, as if wishing he had shot the Hungarian right away, and lowered his arm, defeated. "Fine. Make sure you have a chat with that woman, _king_." Again, he countermarched away, more focused on leaving the building for the sake of not being in the same restaurant as the Hungarian instead of waiting for Milena to follow him.

The audience had stared at the scene of the drama for a moment longer before slowly going back to what they were doing. Even the chefs had come out to watch the nations and quickly withdrew to return to their jobs. Tino released a heavy sigh of relief before lifting up Hanatamago to check for any injuries, even murmuring to it, "Are you okay?" The dog simply wagged its tail from side to side, all fours pawing at his owner and tongue attempted to brush Tino's nose; the Finn chuckled, figuring that the pet was alright.

Valdimar had made sure the crowd died down and went back to their own business before turning to Elizaveta, who still seemed to be recovering from her Hunnic state. He stared at her with worry momentarily, but then curiosity flooded over that emotion - _what did Emil and Milena mean by that?_ He didn't like being left with cliffhangers and mysteries and wanted to know their history. _...But I shouldn't ask her now._

The Hungarian glared out the door to where the Slovak had disappeared for a long while; her anger had been aroused and she had no chance to release it, causing her to take some time to alleviate herself. She turned to face the Nordics, making sure to make eye contact with each one of them before murmuring, "I'm sorry, everyone." She wished she could address the public as well, but felt too out of place to do so. Her eyes stopped on Mathias to recognize him in particular. "We have extremely tough relations."

"It's alright," Valdimar replied, wiping his forehead of newly formed sweat. "At least we know now to keep away from him." Beside him Tino added, "And we were doing that to protect you and the rest of us."

Elizaveta nodded with a smile, thankful for the two smaller Nordics. She came up to Tino, looking down at Hanatamago with an unusually affectionate glint in her eyes. The dog seemed surprised to see her that way, but flicked its tail around excitedly. "And thank you, little one," the Hungarian softly said to it, patting its head. Her back straightened up, feeling a slight sting of pain while doing so, but didn't emotionally show anything. "Anyways, thanks for the dinner, boys. Are we ready to go?"

* * *

Milena was relieved to see Emil cooperate, and watched him make for the exit before turning to the others, glancing at all of them, though her gaze looked particularly cold when it rested on the Hungarian. Narrowing her eyes, she twirled around and followed after the Slovak, ignoring the stares from the crowd in the restaurant. Mathias watched the two Slavs leave, then let his body slowly relax, not realizing how tensed up he had become. He looked around as the crowd returned to what they were doing, though some made up to leave, before looking at Elizaveta to see for sure that she was okay.

_Extremely tough relations doesn't even seem to begin to describe it._ The Dane also was curious to know what Emil and Milena meant, and seeing the look that the Czech had given the Hungarian, it wasn't just the Slovak who was angered about it. "Shit happens, Eli-it's okay. I guess it's better a confrontation happened here than elsewhere with you two alone." He knitted his eyebrows, expression grim as he thought of what could happen if that occurred.

"Yes, I th'nk we're done." Berwald replied, himself not wanting to stay in the restaurant for too much longer. He exchanged a look with the other Nordics, and knowing that the bill hadn't been paid yet, went ahead himself to do so before Elizaveta could complain. The Dane watched him, and though he wanted to pay himself, allowed the Swede to go ahead with it. He put an arm carefully around the Hun's waist, and murmured: "Yeah, let's go." After Berwald paid, though the employee slightly trembled as he handed him his card back, scared from a mix of the Swede's expression and what had just occurred, the Dane led the others out of the restaurant. _If those were journalists...well, this will be all over the news...Looks like tomorrow's meeting won't be too great either..._

* * *

_Shit happens._ There went his motto again - hearing it once more and understanding the meaning behind it pacified her thoughts and yet another smile adorned Elizaveta's face. "Right," she murmured in agreement, peering up at the Dane's face. The smile vanished as a small frown replaced it. _He seems to be worried about this, doesn't he...?_ As much as she appreciated his concern, Elizaveta didn't want him to get involved with her problems with Emil. Adding him to the drama would make all the worse for him and possibly even the rest of the Nordics, seeing how easily the others would jump in to defend him - it didn't help that Mathias was already building his own tense relation with the Slovak. _At least I tried to keep them out of it.  


* * *

_

_**A/N:**_

_More tension~! _

_**xNeyu: **You guys probably really hate Slovakia after what he said to Hungary and the Nordics, haha...I know how to make him cruel. ( ._.) But again, I'm not trying to hate on Slovakia as a country or be racist or anything like that.  
**Amerzt: **Don't forget, he, as a character and individual, holds a huge grudge against Hungary, which is not necessarily reflected in real life with people who haven't lived that part in the past, while Slovakia/Emil has._

_Once again, not much to say. I would explain what Slovakia and Czechia mean by getting to know about Hungary's and their history, though we already kind of have given you hints-it'll be explained further in the RP/fanfiction._


	35. Chapter 34

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 34**

* * *

As Berwald moved across the restaurant, she watched him, enjoying the warmth she and Mathias shared as his arm gently wrapped around her, until she realized what the Swede was doing. Her hand shot out to retort, but soon withdrew it as she noticed that it was too late. Elizaveta pouted, also feeling the stitches on her arm under her sleeve from that action. Valdimar witnessed the Hungarian's slight temper and simply grinned, amused, before following the others out of the restaurant. Tino chuckled quietly and caught up with them, waiting for Berwald to finish paying, then ran up to the free side of Dane, giving him a hopeful look. "...Should we?" he questioned vaguely and quietly, referring to the prank they were planning to pull off on Elizaveta earlier.

* * *

Mathias had also chuckled at the Hungarian's reaction, and kept his arm around her, enjoying the feel of her against him. As Tino came up to him, he blinked in confusion. _Should we. . .?_ The Dane then realized what the Finn was referring to, and pondered for a bit. _Well after what just happened...then again it shouldn't be anything bad, anyway...and it'll lighten up the mood..._ Mathias flashed a smile at Tino and nodded, giving his approval.

Berwald watched, amused, from behind, though himself couldn't help but ponder on the after-dinner drama. He loved a good debate or argument, and he could see that there was definitely a very interesting story that linked the Hungarian, Slovak, and Czech that caused for their constant hostility. He glanced at Valdimar, who he knew was probably the most inquisitive out of the others and probably pondering on it as well-Berwald could almost see the gears in the Icelander's head turning. But the Swede again looked to Tino, giving him a look that questioned what exactly was in mind for the supposed "prank" to be played on the Hungarian.

* * *

Valdimar was, indeed, lost in thought about the central Europeans' history; Emil's and Milena's words had been bothering him since they had left, and he wasn't going to be satisfied until he knew what exactly went on with them. The Icelander wondered why he couldn't come up with an answer at the top of his head. _Were we that isolated from the rest of Europe?_ His eyes slowly made way to the Hungarian, who was distracted and still cuddled up next to Mathias. _Maybe..._ He opened his mouth to question Elizaveta about her past and relations with the other couple. However, remembering the Hun's intimidating demeanor and glare, he immediately sealed his lips. Valdimar didn't want to anger her unnecessarily, or create another tense atmosphere. He then glanced uneasily at Berwald nearby, reading his expression before turning to look at the Finn. The blonde seemed to be up to something. _Oh, that's right..._

"We should pull off something elaborate while we're still together," Tino murmured, checking every once in a while that Elizaveta wasn't tuning in. She was busy thinking about exactly what Valdimar wanted to know. "It's rare for us to be in one place at a time. It's too bad that Eirik will be missing out on this, but..." His eyes gazed up at the sky thoughtfully, trying to conspire as quickly as he could.

"Ah, how about this?" Tino swiftly scanned the area. "We'll disperse and leave Elizaveta alone. But..." He paused as he noticed Valdimar walk up beside Elizaveta, asking her if something was wrong and flashing him a small grin afterwards. The Finn returned the Icelander's expression and continued, making up the plot on the spot, "...one of us should stay with her - probably Valdi - so that we carry out this plan without failing. Valdi should lead her to a tree after another one of us inside it rustles the leaves and, as if looking for us, will search through the tree. I can do that!

"Then, someone else - Berwald should do this part - will come out from a hiding spot, pick her up, and turn her upside down. Luckily, she's wearing pants." Tino chuckled, somewhat nervously as he knew that Mathias could be bothered with anyone else looking up her dress when she wore one. "You can stand on a branch in another tree and Berwald will pass her to you. You'll take her by her legs and you can have the honors of doing whatever you want to her - hang her from a tree, or toss her into that body of water nearby...it doesn't really matter as long as it's a prank." The Finn smiled widely, hoping that their scheme would be carried out and work. And, knowing the Viking, he would usually pull off something more clever and mischievous, which often made Mathias's part of their trick the best. "Is that alright with you?"

* * *

Berwald noticed the Icelander's glance, and looked at him questioningly. However, his attention returned to the Finn and Dane, picking up on their conversation. He listened to Tino's explanation, raising an eyebrow in amusement. Mathias also listened intently, his eyes glancing around to take in the environment. _He comes up with these things fast..._ He pondered on it a bit, and then nodded, whispering back. "Alright, sounds good." _And yes, thankfully she's wearing pants. . ._

He slowly slid his arm off of the Hungarian, glancing at Valdimar, giving him a message. He and Berwald fell back a couple of steps, allowing Elizaveta and Valdimar to talk with each other. Berwald glanced at Tino and Mathias. The Dane sneaked back a little, and making sure that the Hungarian was fully distracted, clambered up into a tree. Berwald stood nearby, out of sight, and they waited for the next move in the plan.

* * *

Valdimar exchanged a brief glance with the Dane, barely nodding his head to signal that he was ready. He continued his conversation with Elizaveta, but couldn't help but to wonder, _Is she really that oblivious? Or maybe she's just really distracted and absorbed._ He didn't miss a word from the Finn's mouth, but Elizaveta surely seemed to be enjoying getting to know him better. The Icelander didn't have much trouble lengthening their talk and stalling for time for Tino to sneak away with Berwald and Mathias. The Finnish nation waited for the Dane to climb up into a tree before jumping into a different one nearby. A moment later, Valdimar calmly and slowly looked behind him, pretending as if he had no idea where the other Nordics went off to. "...Great," he huffed out, trying not to exaggerate his voice. "They ditched us."

"Oh?" Elizaveta answered, rather surprised to hear so. Her mind had been on other things too much that she didn't notice Mathias's arm slip off of her waist, and glanced down at her body and around her to double check. "...I don't see them, either."

"Knowing them, they probably ditched us to pull off a prank on us," he muttered, aware that it wouldn't harm the conspirators to 'include' himself in their equation or mention that. On his shoulder, his puffin glanced around and puffed out its wings nervously, but Valdimar could tell that it was playing along. "Watch out for yourself."

As planned, Tino rattled a tree branch, which caught Valdimar's, the puffin's, and Elizaveta's attention at once, directing their eyes to his tree. However, somewhat sidetracking from their original scheme, the puffin flew off and into the tree, _caw_ing again as it darted into the giant ball of leaves. Valdimar frowned slightly, staring off after it before moving in towards the tree trunk. "Wait right there," he instructed the Hungarian, rolling up his sleeves, traveling up the trunk a bit, and digging his hands into the branches. "My puffin found something, or some_one_. I can't see a thing through this thou-"

Suddenly, Valdimar yelped in surprise as he was quickly pulled up into the tree himself with the strength of Tino's arms, disappearing into the tree as well and leaving Elizaveta by herself. The Hun called out to the Icelandic nation, worried; but Valdimar was safe and sound with Tino, who whispered to the younger Nordic nation with both Hanatmago and his puffin on his shoulders, grinning, "I thought it would be better to get you up here so that Elizaveta would freak out, but we should move to a different tree before she comes up herself and so that we can get a better view of what Mathias'll do to her. Berwald better come out fast..."

Elizaveta, on the meanwhile, did continue frighteningly look up into the tree, concerned about Valdimar. _This is definitely a prank._ She still falsely believed that the scheme was centered on both her and the Icelander, and tried climbing up the tree herself to see if the white-headed boy was alright. The Hungarian stumbled at first, then kicked off her high heels with frustration. _It doesn't help that I have those on, either..._ Again, Elizaveta attempted to take a look into the tree, moving aside the blobs of leaves in her way, but saw nothing, as the two Nordics had already escaped. "...Valdi?"

* * *

Mathias waited patiently, keep silent as he hid in the nearby tree, his eyes focused on Elizaveta. He glanced once at Berwald, and as they shared a nod, the Swede came out of hiding spot and grabbed a hold of the Hungarian, his strong arms easily detaching her from the tree as he turned her upside down, and as quickly as possible handed her to Mathias's outstretched arms. The Dane firmly gripped onto her legs, snickering, and making sure that her arms didn't hit anything, hoisted her a bit further up the tree and took a vine, wrapping it around her legs and the branch before jumping out the other side. He would have liked to do something more fun than that, but remembering her injuries, he didn't want to cause her further pain, and came into her view and looked up at her.

"Woah, Eli, how did you get yourself stuck up there?" Mathias asked innocently, though the mischievous glint in his eyes was undoubtedly present. Berwald chuckled quietly, also coming into her view, and then glanced around, wondering where Tino and Valdimar had disappeared to.

* * *

Elizaveta continued staring into the tree, pondering about what could have happened and her next options. She frowned as she began to lay down the possibilities onto her mental table. However, she found herself getting stuck before she could set down the first possibility, as she realized that there were endless reasons to why Valdimar could have disappeared. Instead, Elizaveta told herself what she was able to do next. _I can either go in here and look around, or go ba-_

Much to her surprise, Elizaveta felt a sudden pull on her ankles, letting out an accompanying shriek as she was turned upside down. She had no time whatsoever to recognize what was happening to her and who was who and who was doing what - by the time she got to her senses upside down, she lost them again the moment she was pulled upwards or downwards (she couldn't tell, she had no idea what direction she was moving in after being fumbled around so much). And, before the Hungarian knew it, she was tied to a tree branch by vines firmly gripping onto her ankles. Elizaveta had to wait until she was no longer tossed around to bend her head up and see that she had been tied up and hanging. Her eyes darted almost everywhere to find the source of Mathias's voice, then she knitted her eyebrows as his voice and his own eyes hinted that he had been a part of this trick. "You _devil_," she scowled somewhat sarcastically, though the seriousness overpowering her teasing tone.

From yet another tree nearby, Tino and Valdimar both had witnessed the scene, and held in their laughter until they were sure that Elizaveta was up and hanging. The two others rejoined their Nordic brothers, their animals displaying their own amusement through barking or energetic movements, and grinned as Elizaveta recognized them. "Sorry Eli," Tino apologized, having picked up the nickname from the Dane. "We had to pull a prank on you."

"Tino? Valdi - you're okay?" the Hungarian frowned, blinking a few times as she gazed upon the seemingly upside down men. The Icelander returned a look to her that suggested mischief as well. She looked around again, this time noticing the Swede. A smirk came across her lips. "Oh, so this was a group effort to trick _me_, wasn't it?" She moved her legs slightly, causing herself to gently sway back and forth. "You're all going to get it someday, I swear."

* * *

Mathias snickered. "We'll see about that, Eli." Figuring that the prank had been successfully accomplished and that the Hungarian had been up in the tree long enough, he climbed into the tree again, releasing her from the vines and holding her in his arms as he jumped down, carrying her bridal-style. "But you have to admit, that was pretty damn good. Credit goes to Tino." He grinned, looking over to the Finn.

Berwald shook his head, then glanced at his watch. "Ah, we bet'r be headin' back. Got 'nother long day a'ead." The Swede looked around at them before continuing to walk back to their hotel. Mathias nodded and followed, though still carrying Elizaveta in his arms. "I'm just going to warn you now...you can expect a lot worse from us later on." He smirked, then kissed her forehead. He had been put back into a good mood after that event, the memories of when he and his fellow Nordics were known to be mischievous filling his mind. The Dane also couldn't help but think about the Hungarian's words from what seemed a long time ago. _She was scared of pulling us apart...but I think she's putting us back together._

* * *

The Hungarian gazed over to Tino with some shock in her eyes. "Really, _Tino_?" She chuckled, not expecting the Finn to have set up such a prank. "I would have thought it was Mathias who came up with it." Elizaveta noticed Mathias returning to the tree branch to liberate her; some fear rose as she could potentially collapse to the ground upside down, though prepared herself in case she did, her arms stiff and ready - instead, she found herself in the Dane's arms and, despite it being embarrassing at first, much preferred this over trying to save herself from a harsh fall. Her mouth opened to challenge Mathias, but only ended up closing them as she felt a wave of warmth flow through her body from his kiss. A blush gently reddened her face and, feeling it, pressed her face against Mathias as if to hide it, her arms wrapped around his neck.

Tino and Valdimar exchanged a happy look - not only did they think of it amusing to find Mathias in a good relationship with Elizaveta, but they were also glad that he was his cheerful self. _It looks like nothing can go wrong with them,_ Tino thought with a grin. He looked to Valdimar as the Icelander uttered with a smirk, adding onto Mathias's words, "And it'll be a lot worse with Eirik and his magic."

After chuckling nervously, Tino nodded in agreement when Berwald suggested that they return to the hotel. "Right, let's go." He and Valdimar followed willingly behind the others; Elizaveta herself frowned as Mathias decided to carry her away and didn't allow her to make use of her perfectly fine legs. Her eyes narrowed as she looked up at the man holding her, murmuring lowly and darkly, "You and the Nordics can expect something from me as well." She snickered and shifted her leg to lightly knee him, though affectionately. Then she thought sporadically, leaving her mind in deep thought, _Where would I be now without him?_

* * *

Mathias chuckled at the Hungarian's reaction, and simply squeezed her more against him as he felt the warmth of her blush at his chest. "Cute." He whispered to her, and grinned mischievously at the Icelander's words. As they walked, he looked down at Elizaveta as she spoke again, and flinched as she kneed him. "Oh, I'm scared. Terrified, really." He murmured sarcastically, shifting her slightly in his arms. Berwald glanced back at them, and also exchanged a look with the others. It was an entertaining sight, to say the least, that the Dane was being so openly affectionate to her. Mathias simply walked along happily, his strong arms easily supporting the Hun, oblivious to the other Nordics and their stares.

As they approached the hotel, the Dane didn't give a second thought to that the Hungarian should be back at her usual place of stay, and rather brought her inside. Berwald raised an eyebrow at Mathias, but decided to leave it be and called for the elevator, which eventually took the party upstairs. Once on their floor, Mathias walked to his room, finally putting Elizaveta down on her own two feet, though not before flashing her another grin. "We can all have some coffee before splitting up, yeah?" He opened the door, beckoning the others in.

* * *

"Good - you should be," Elizaveta answered, taking his sarcasm further though remaining silent along the way back to the hotel. She would have preferred walking, though took this as a way for Mathias to make up for his prank and instead enjoyed herself in his arms while it lasted. She didn't remember that she had to return to Bella's home until the Nordics' hotel came into sight, frowning slightly as she became concerned for her roommate. _She shouldn't mind, as long as I don't come back too late..._ But seeing how enervated the Belgian seemed after the conference, Elizaveta could easily imagine her passing out early on the couch right when she landed on it. This set her in a situation in which she wasn't too sure what to do next. _I guess there's no choice but to wake her up._

As her legs were given the freedom to roam around where they wanted to again, Elizaveta once again frowned as her bare feet touched the floor beneath her, unaware of the expression that the Dane had given her. "I'm going to need to borrow some shoes." She peered over at Mathias, as if something was looming over his head. "And, of course, Mathias just seems even taller without high heels on."

Both Tino and Valdimar turned their attention to the Hungarian, tilting their heads down to examine her pale, elegant (and tiny) feet. "Ah, sorry about that," Tino apologized, feeling as if he was the one to blame for. "I'll buy you new ones..."

"No." Elizaveta's repsonse came out a little sterner than usual, but after having them pay for the dinner, she couldn't help but to deny for any of their help any longer. The corners of her lips curled down guiltily as she realized that she could have been offensive, and waved her hands in the air as if to take that tone of voice back. "Please, don't. I have another pair with me - and if those aren't formal enough, I'll just ask Bella."

The three of them then willingly entered the hotel room, none of them disagreeing to Mathias's offer. Valdimar headed in first, moving around more urgently than usual, and took out his laptop from his luggage, immediately unfolding it and turning on the power; Tino scanned the room for the coffee maker, heading off to make coffee for the five of them; Elizaveta settled down on their bed, heaving out a sigh after having been through so much stress through the day, and waved around her hair to cool herself down. Feeling an awkward atmosphere, Tino brought himself up to start a conversation. "The prank made my night - hopefully nothing drastic happens like that for the rest of the meeting..."

* * *

Mathias had also glanced down at her feet, not having taken notice to that she was barefoot until now. He smiled guiltily as everyone filed into the room, closing the door after he entered, and settled down next to the Hungarian, murmuring to her. "Well, high heels can only help you so much. What, do you expect to be constantly wearing them around me?" He chuckled, then stretched, watching Tino prepare the coffee and Valdimar go to his laptop. He raised an eyebrow curiously at him, but then dismissed it. Berwald had settled himself on the coach in the room, enjoying the feel of his body sinking into its plush exterior. Thankfully the room was big enough that it didn't feel cramped but rather spacious.

As Tino spoke, Mathias nodded slowly. "Yeah. I guess we'll see what the rest of the week brings." He glanced at the Hun. "And then hopefully things will calm down, throughout Europe. There are way too many things going on..." He frowned, thinking of the various problems that had been popping up here and there. Floods, protests, large-scale crimes...it was a seemingly never-ending list, and it reminded the Dane of how much work being a nation could be. _It's amazing we've endured so long without snapping...well, most of us, anyway..._

* * *

"I wish I could," Elizaveta replied to Mathias, sighing lightly and pressing herself gently against the Dane. He didn't know how burdensome it was to bend her head so far back just to make eye contact with him, the strain alone making it seem awkward to her. The Hun didn't expect to be growing any taller, either - she was rather old and hadn't grown an inch for who knew how long. Fortunately for her, the same could be said to the Nordics, perhaps with the exception of Valdimar; Mathias was surely older than her, and the remaining Northern European countries probably reached their limit already. "It would be nice to gain another few inches, now that I'm around you guys."

Elizaveta had stressed her lips into a smile, which Tino responded with a small laugh and grin. "I don't think you have to worry. I think we're the ones that are _too_ tall...or for Mathias and Berwald, at least." He exchanged looks with the two tallest Nordics, noticing Valdimar typing away on his laptop with rapid _clickclacks_, absorbed in whatever he was doing. After preparing the coffee, he first handed two cups to the couple, which Elizaveta happily accepted as Hanatamago again hopped onto her lap. In reply to Mathias, the Finn murmured, "I'm sure we'll solve something, like we always do. And if Emil decides to step up against you, we'll be there for you, Elizaveta." His grin stretched more across his face, about to consult the rest of the Nordics for approval, though noticed the Icelander cocking his eyebrows as if he disagreed. Frowning, Tino murmured, "Is there something wrong, Valdi...?"

"It's not that." Valdimar finally raised his eyes from the glowing computer screen, giving off a serious expression that stunned the other Nordic. From what Tino could tell, the Icelander was onto something. "Elizaveta, when Emil and Milena mentioned about learning their history...they were referring to the Magyarization, weren't they?"

Elizaveta froze with her hand still with the cup of coffee brought up to her lips. She gave off a rather dead stare at the wall for some time that it began to worry Tino nearby until her arm unsteadily lowered to her lap. The warm brown liquid quivered as she stared intently down into the drink, lengthening the pause while pondering on her answer. Though Valdimar's tone of voice sounded certain of his words, Elizaveta mumbled, her voice soft but low, "I don't understand what you mean."

* * *

The Dane chuckled, again taking into note how much shorter the Hungarian was compared to him and the other Nordics. "I'm not sure if you'll be able to grow another few inches. You're just going to have to deal with it." He then flashed a grin at Tino. "And yes. We're just too tall. Can't be helped." Mathias gladly took the cup of coffee from Tino, absorbing its warmth as it rested between his palms. As the Finn talked, Mathias raised it to his lips, taking a slow sip before putting it back down at nodding. However, before he could verbally respond, his attention was called to the Icelander. Berwald had also perked up, looking between the laptop and Valdimar curiously.

_Magyarization?_ Mathias knit his eyebrows. From what he could make out of the word, it was basically _Hungarization_. He looked to Elizaveta, also starting to worry at the length of time it took her to respond. When she finally did, he frowned. _The way she replied. . .and all that time to think about it..._ "Eli, you don't have to hide anything from us." He murmured quietly. Yet the look on the Hun's face slightly frightened him, and he looked back to Valdimar, giving him a questioning look, prompting him to continue.

* * *

Valdimar's expression turned into a disturbed stare at the Hungarian. He seemed incredulous, for a reason that Tino couldn't understand. But things weren't really that much clearer when Mathias encouraged the Icelander to speak again, who seemed to be getting closer to snapping at the woman. "Magyarization," he repeated himself. "I thought that it would be your people denying it, seeing that the Internet says so, but I'm surprised that _you're_ in denial as well."

Elizaveta scrunched up her face slightly, disliking the pressure that she was feeling from the Nordics. There was no doubt that Valdimar had decided to search up her and the Slovak's history, displaying interest in knowing what had happened. Her coffee trembled more, creating more waves in the form of rings. "I just don't want to talk about it." Her voice was a mere whisper, as if something had torn out a piece of her soul. Tino frowned, watching Elizaveta becoming emotionally unstable. He insisted, "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to..."

"No, I'll talk." Elizaveta's voice grated slightly as she tried to recover her voice. "Valdimar would probably tell the rest of you about it anyways, but you'll be lingering with the question of why I did it." Unable to keep it from happening, her voice came down to a whisper again, her eyes ridden with melancholy. "It's so unforgivable that none of you may look at me the same way."

Both Tino and Valdimar exchanged a look with each other before glancing at the other two Nordics in the room. Hanatamago was silent, though snuggled up on Elizaveta's lap, detecting her change in emotion. It was probably true - they could search up about Magyarization all they want, but would never know the reasons behind her motives for whatever it was. But looking at her in a different way - _was it that bad?_ Tino wondered, gazing once again at Valdimar. He might have been so surprised with what he found that he was basically asking "why" as well. The Finn would have given her some words of reassurance, but didn't know if what she said would really happen.

* * *

Both Mathias and Berwald exchanged glances. The Dane's lips hardened into a frown, and after setting down his cup on the desk, gently took the cup the Hungarian held out of hands, not wanting to risk the hot beverage spilling on her. Mathias then held her hand, squeezing it, and whispered reassuringly: "We won't look at you differently. We've all done things that we regret, horrible things." He brushed a hand through her hair, trying to comfort her in whatever way possible. She obviously disliked the subject, but even Mathias couldn't contain his curiosity. _What is it that she's so. . .disturbed by?_

* * *

Elizaveta's mouth twitched into a hard frown. The words that Mathias spoke gave her tiny bit more confidence, but it shredded her to bits as well. She had to shut her eyes to keep composure of herself, letting the Dane slip her cup out of her hands, then took a silent inhale and exhale. Valdimar watched with an intense gaze, Tino with concerned eyes; and finally, the Hungarian opened her eyes and mouth to spill out information that the others had not known about.

"Magyarization..." She paused to swallow, trying to discard her rasping. "...was brought up when Gilbert decided to try to get Ludwig to spread his German culture around Europe, called Germanization. Of course, Gilbert being Gilbert, I tried to stop him from spreading it to my country, which started Magyarization - or otherwise, spreading my Hungarian culture." Her stare remained on the dog below her as if it was a substitute for her coffee. "I...went too far with it. I was so carried away with the fact that Gilbert was being a _dumbass_ again that I forced it on Emil. He and his people had to abandon their language and culture - if they didn't speak in Hungarian, there were cruel consequences to that. They were forced into _everything_ to _make_ them Hungarian."

Her body began shuddering, imitating her situation if she was standing out in a blizzard without shelter. The memories that were brought back to her obviously had left a profound mark on her history as well as her emotions. Again, her voice was soft. "Roderich had to call over Ivan to stop me - he and Ivan did, actually. I should be thankful for both of them." A small smile sneaked onto her face for a few seconds. "Then Slovakization and other nationalist movements happened to make up for it. But Emil himself hasn't been able to get over it, and continued to abuse me. I didn't complain about it at first because I thought I deserved it, but...now, he's just out to kill me. Magyarization was a version of World War II for him, and Milena was a victim of Germanization, so she understands how he felt."

Silence took over the room as Elizaveta finished her explanation, leaving Tino in complete shock though Valdimar experienced a more minor one. So much information had been shot at them at once that they were left with somewhat stoned expressions, glued into place. Not knowing about this made them feel more isolated from the world, let alone Europe, all together. Valdimar seemed to add in the concluding sentence. "That's why he loathes you so passionately..."

* * *

"...Because you almost murdered him." The Dane added, as much as it hurt to say it, and as much as it hurt to hear it. He, too, had been completely shocked, knowing very well what actions such as the one Elizaveta had taken part of in the past meant for nations. To have your language and culture twisted if not destroyed, and..._cruel consequences_...to have your people be beaten and killed meant one and one thing only-death. After all, the nations were like the life and bloodstream of their country, the nation keeping his or her people alive and vice-versa. Mathias still held onto the Hungarian, now embracing her as she trembled, seeing in her eyes that she was revisiting the past.

Berwald had also been in shock, though it couldn't be seen from his usual expression, besides slightly widened eyes. He was processing all of the information the Hungarian had just spilled, going through his own knowledge banks. Though he and the other Nordics had been isolated from the rest of Europe, in his free time he did enjoy reading some history, seeing if he could make connections in modern debates and issues. After a while, he spoke up: "...I'm s'rry for bringin' up any bad mem'ries, but..." He paused, knitting his eyebrows as he contemplated. "...Was th't the reason yer empire fell apart? You 'n Rod'rich..." The Swede received a glance from the Dane, but continued.

"..Emil and Milena ran away aft'r that-German'zation and Magyar'zation, right? If I 'member correctly..." He nodded, confirming his own thoughts and words. Mathias shifted slightly. Their conversation had taken a dangerous turn the moment Tino brought up Emil, but yet he didn't want to stray away from it. _If anything...we need to know all what happened. It's better just to get these things out now and have it over with..._ He grimaced at his thoughts, and looked back down at Elizaveta, who never had looked so frail and pale as she did now. "Eli..."

* * *

"I did," Elizaveta confirmed as if admitting her sins, silently choking on the last word. Her past was once again haunting her, blaming her for her actions that she felt as if she could never atone for. If she was feeling this bad, she wondered how in the world Ludwig was able to cope with World War II. Luckily, the Hungarian wasn't as infamous as the German for his genocide - had Roderich stopped her later, who knew what would have become of her now.

The next thing she realized was that she was clinging onto Mathias for comfort, her nails yanking at his shirt, as she seemed to plead wordlessly to be forgiven. Her face pressed against the crook of his neck, hoping to avoid her tears from forming and getting onto her skin. Tino and Valdimar's hearts nearly sank at the sight, the puffin flying over to her side and Hanatamago whimpering and shuffling around on her legs; Valdimar was more guilty for putting her in such a mood, though felt too awkward to apologize. He forced himself to get out a "Sorry, Elizaveta" anyways, averting his gaze and pushing his eyebrows together. The Icelander wasn't too sure if she had heard it, but Elizaveta had quickly gathered control of herself once again, sitting up with more determination. To his surprise, it didn't look as if she let a single drop of water escape from her eyes, as Berwald had brought her thoughts onto a slightly different topic.

"Yes, that was a part of the reason why our empire fell." Elizaveta was amazingly far less emotional about that than Magyarization. Her secure voice had again stunned Tino and Valdimar, who very well knew that Roderich was probably the most influential person in her life. As the Hun continued and nodded at the Swede, they had to suppress any looming thoughts in their heads to listen to her. "And both of them ran away, yes..."

"So, basically," Tino joined in, "now Emil is out to get revenge whenever he can?"

Elizaveta pursed her lips, her hand having found Mathias's and tightening her grip around his fingers. "You could say that."

* * *

Mathias's eyes softened, allowing the Hungarian to use him as support as his hand was gripped in hers now, his other arm secured around her, even though she was sitting up. To see her in such a state was heartbreaking, but her sudden change and more emotionless approach in reference to the question of her previous empire that she shared with the Austrian were a tad startling. Berwald leaned back in his seat, allowing his mind to wander again, pondering more on the entwined history of the Central European nations. The Dane glanced at Tino, and then back to Elizaveta, a frown once again forming on his lips.

"_You could say that_-why else would he be so willing to hurt you constantly?" He knitted his eyebrows, thinking, and continued, his voice lower. "...Elizaveta, is there more to this? Did things happen even after that between you two that could be fueling him...?" Mathias knew there had always been some hostility between the two nations-at any meeting they would either completely ignore each other or shoot each other deadly looks. Milena herself seemed to be wary around the Hungarian and would tense up around her-more factors that probably led to the usual chaos that meetings resulted in. It became apparent to Mathias that there had always been a lot more going on at meetings than he initially realized, and he felt like a fool for only realizing it now.

* * *

Elizaveta nodded, turning her head to face Mathias. "Of course. Whenever we do something innocent around them, Emil and his people take it as a threatening act and take action against it. It's the same with my government, too - when he and his superiors decide on something relating to us, our inner hostilities rise and we do something about it as well."

"A trade off," Valdimar called it.

"That's right. It hasn't been much better and it's going to be difficult to settle this at all." She shook her head, again giving Mathias her attention. "Remember when you came to my Parliament and there was a meeting, then I told you about Emil refusing to cooperate when it came to our dual citizenship? That's one thing - and the incident with the Slovak killing a group of Hungarians for speaking our language is another." Her free hand grabbed gently at her stomach, feeling it tingle from the pain she used to bear.

Tino, on the meanwhile, had remembered to get another two cups of coffee, handing it to his other brothers. Valdimar gladly relieved the Finn of one, blowing at then sipping out of it. "Which brings us to today," Tino continued again for Elizaveta. "Now that you talk about it, I remember that we always talked about you and Emil at almost every meeting..."

"I've had the impression that Emil isn't the happiest nation, either," Valdimar muttered, closing his laptop. "He always has that same expression during conferences."

* * *

Mathias relieved a sigh after the Hungarian's next few words. "I see. . ." He nodded in agreement to Valdimar, feeling that 'trade-off' was a fitting term to describe the situation. He then turned his attention back to the Hungarian as she recalled the day that the two had been in Budapest, and Mathias remembered Elizaveta bringing up Emil after leaving the room where her government officials had been urgently speaking. _So every step...the two are at it, at each other..._ His lips twitched into yet another frown as he observed the Hun, and murmured gently: "Yes, I remember. . ."

Berwald also gladly took the cup offered to him, nodding in thanks to Tino, his intense gaze now looking into the hot liquid. He pondered over the information and words that had been exchanged during their time together in that room, and then he raised his gaze to look over at the Icelander. Mathias nodded again, agreeing. "No, he never did look all that happy. . ."

"Well," The Swede spoke up, clearing his throat. "From what I've read...he doesn' have much re'son t'be happy." He nodded his head once in the Hungarian's direction, his message clear, before continuing. "I 'member readin' that Ludwig an' Fel'ciano forced Emil an' Milena t'give up a lot of their land. . .a lot fr'm Emil to Eliz'veta. An' durin' that time I'm sure yer people weren' too happy. . ." He paused, taking a sip from the coffee that was slowly losing its heat. "An' then Ludwig's boss got people to brainwash Emil into joinin' his side during WWII...against Milena. Then later on there was Ivan..." Berwald paused to shake his head, not liking memories he himself had with the Russian. "...and all of that Comm'inism stuff..."

Mathias shook his head, and muttered. "_For satan_, Berwald...why the hell do you know all of this?" He exhaled in frustration, though he knew very well that the Swede knew from reading. But the Dane nodded, still keeping his hold on the Hungarian. "Yeah, I guess I'm finding it difficult to see why he would be happy about anything. . . ."

* * *

Elizaveta, Tino, and Valdimar all listened to Berwald, intrigued by his plethora of knowledge about history. The woman of the group displayed a small smile, rather happy that he was letting her spare her breath and contributing an explanation for what had happened - and accurately, at that. Her lips twitched into a small smile, thinking more of Berwald for being informative rather than the horrors of her past that could have come along with his words.

"I think he's used to it - he has Milena, too." Elizaveta sighed, trying to set aside the topic. She freed Mathias's hand to pick up the dog that had been resting on her lap, looking it eye to eye with a grin. "I should get back to Bella's house, little one." Her head cocked to the side, as if trying to charm the animal, and Hanatamago attempted to stretch out its short stubby paws to rub her face with. Elizaveta giggled softly, nuzzling it before standing up and putting the dog on the floor; she glanced at each of the Nordics, looking at Mathias last. "I'll have to end the conversation here - Bella might get worried about me. I'll talk to you boys later, and thank you so much for everything today."

Tino perked up instantly, answering, "Ah, alright! As I said, we'll be here for you." His happiness shone through his grin. "Take care, Elizaveta - oh, but you shouldn't be going out alone, right?" He also couldn't help but to take a look at Elizaveta's coffee cup sitting in Mathias's hand, which she never managed to get a drink of.

Valdimar stood up, setting aside his laptop onto a table before tossing out a quickly engulfed cup of coffee. "Bye, Elizaveta. We had fun pulling that prank on you." His lips twitched into a smirk, then added, "And I think Mathias wants you all to himself for the rest of the night."

* * *

Both Mathias and Berwald nodded as Elizaveta spoke. _Used to it...that's kinda depressing._ Mathias shook his head, and watched in amusement as the Hungarian bid farewell to the Finn's pet, glad that the topic was done with. He stood up right after Elizaveta did, and pushed the cup of coffee into her hands. Berwald nodded to the Hun. "G'night, Eliz'veta. Stay safe." The Swede then looked at the Dane. "An' don't try anythin' risky, Mat'ias." The Dane laughed, and flashed the Icelander a grin before putting his arms around Elizaveta. "I'm not gonna do anythin'. And yes, I do want her to myself, thank you."

He raised a hand as he departed with the Hungarian, heading down to the lobby in the elevator. "I'll walk you to Bella's place." He smiled at her, his arm now sliding around her waist as they departed the hotel and stepped into the cool night, a gentle breeze blowing in the still busy streets. He glanced around, and saw one or two people stop to look at the couple, a somewhat curious and startled expression, especially looking at Elizaveta. _...They must have been at the restaurant. Or heard of it._ He shifted slightly, bringing the Hun closer to his side as they walked. "Are you feeling better?"

* * *

The distant chuckles and laughter of the Nordics behind the closing door were the last sounds Elizaveta heard from them. The Hungarian left with Mathias by her side, wearing another small smile on her face. She had gotten a better impression of them through their conversations, their actions, and - of course - their prank. Though some aspects of them weren't so bright (however, she has to admit that she said that only because of the mischief they had pulled off on her earlier), they were definitely a comfortable group of people to be around. The Nordics were supportive of not only each other but also nations outside their group who had a connection with at least one of them, even if they didn't know them personally; this was what Elizaveta felt from her personal experience of spending just a few hours with them. _And while the nations are still all together, we'll have more chances to get together these next few days._ A chuckle quietly escaped from her throat. _I understand why Mathias loves them as a family so much._

Her face was emitting happiness when Mathias sneaked an arm around her, and Elizaveta turned her head to give an affectionate look at the Dane, replying shortly, "Alright." Her leg instinctively brushed against his as her body subconsciously took note of the weather, though Elizaveta herself didn't pick up the passerbys' glances at her as her mind was wandering. She immediately rattled her head to focus back on reality when she heard the voice she could not deny responding to.

"Oh! Um-" She mentally scolded herself for being socially awkward every time after daydreaming. "I'm surprised - I'm feeling great right now." Again, she showed off a grin to the taller nation. "It's one thing to talk to someone else about your problems, but it's a completely different story to have someone siding with you no matter what." After a short pause, she quietly added, not necessarily intending to say it aloud but not afraid to either, "You raised them well, Mathias. It's no wonder why they're all great nations today."

* * *

Mathias was going to reply to the Hungarian, glad that she was feeling better and to further reassure her, but his jaw snapped close at her last statement. He couldn't help but look away shyly, and let out a nervous laugh. Never in his life had he been complemented on raising the others, or half the time even been acknowledged for having done so. The other Nordics all had their own ways of showing some kind of thanks, but it was never clearly stated. "Oh...uh...thanks." He mentally punched himself for sounding the way he did, finding certain insecurity in his voice. Pushing away any bad thoughts, he nuzzled the Hungarian's head, smiling warmly. "And they've also taught me a lot in the process. And I'm glad they did."

The Viking felt that their walk had been too short as they came upon the doors to the building where Bella's flat was located. He decided to escort her up the elevator, to floor seven, and paused outside the Belgian's door. He turned to her, hands on her waist, and pressed his forehead against hers, his breath dancing on her lips. He felt like he could stand like that for a while, as long as it meant having Elizaveta there for him to hold. "Good night, and sweet dreams. Try not to think about other things. And you know I'm a call away if you need it." He murmured to her before pressing his lips against hers, giving her a gentle kiss. After a few moments he released her, and straightened back up.

Mathias pressed a finger against the button of the doorbell, and after some sounds of shuffling and locks being opened, the door flew open to reveal a very tired looking Bella. "A-ah, hello you two! I was actually just about to call you, Liz..." She smiled at the Hungarian before looking to the Dane, hands on her hips and amusement in her eyes. "And you, mister-I hope you've been taking good care of her."

"Of course." The Dane grinned. His body was also feeling the exhaustion of the day, becoming more apparent as he saw the tired Belgian, and gave her a wave. "But I'll be leaving her in your care now. Good night!" He bent to give Elizaveta one last peck on her cheek before making his way back down to the lobby and to his hotel.

"Good night, Mathias!" Bella called after him, and then closed the door after pulling the Hungarian inside, smiling brightly at her. "You two are too cute, know that?" She giggled softly, but her eyes suddenly turned more serious and her voice lowered. "...I heard what happened. Don't worry about it though...Milena is staying the night with Emil." Her lips curled into a frown. "Just promise me you two won't get into more trouble than you already are? Well, at least promise for yourself..."

* * *

Elizaveta became concerned when he had stumbled with his answer, eying him, but decided not to nag him about it. She knew that her words casted some doubt to Mathias, though she spoke out from heart; it would be useless trying to convince and argue with him anyways.

The Hungarian had the same feeling as the Dane, frowning slightly when they arrived at their destination. Their rather quiet, peaceful walk ended far sooner than she had thought. Luckily, she wasn't too heartbroken as she usually would have been upon thinking that Mathias had to leave her - _there's always another day_, she told herself for reassurance. Her immature side had learned to control itself.

She was wondering why Mathias hesitated in front of the door, about to turn and face him to give him a questioning look. Instead, Elizaveta found her forehead pressing against his, feeling his warmth spread to her skin, and closed her eyes, letting a small huff of air disperse out of her mouth. Her lips tingled to meet his, though he had taken action first and made her heart spark in joy. Smiling, Elizaveta replied, "Good night, Mathias; I'll try not to. Don't think too much about me, either." Her eyes reopened as she shifted her lips into a smirk, which disappeared as soon as Bella opened her door. Her worn out appearance distracted her with worry long enough for the other two to converse for a short moment, then straightened up as Mathias kissed her cheek. Embarrassed by his display of affection in front of the Belgian, Elizaveta flushed slightly, timidly glancing at the ground until she realized Bella's voice changing. "Oh...alright. I'll try." She was glad that Milena had decided to stay at the Slovak's house for the night - but concerning avoiding problems with Emil, Elizaveta couldn't keep that a promise.

* * *

_**A/N:**_

**_xNeyu: _**_Uhh, what to say first - oh, the prank. I wanted to come up with something far more epic, but I spent about half an hour to an hour trying to come up with something and that was all I could come up with. xD; I at least hope that was entertaining._

_There's another hugeeee history lesson in this chapter! Except we're explaining it Hetalia style. I can say for the most part that everything mentioned about Hungary and Slovakia's relationship is true...or that I've read it somewhere. I heard that Magyarization tends to be unacknowledged or denied by Hungarians, which explains why Hungary was at first claiming that she didn't know what Iceland was talking about. _

_About "Gilbert being an asshole and encouraging Ludwig to start Germanization", I can say that that's...not true, I guess? I'm not too sure myself, but we made it that way because we couldn't imagine Germany initiating this on his own. I believe that Prussia was supportive of Germany's growth (not talking about Hetalia characters here haha), so if that actually happens to be right, then hurray! And I'm sure that Sweden's bit of information is accurate as well. **Amerzt** and I have done researching and Hetalia-ized them up for easier understanding. xDDD_

_**Amerzt:** And okay I lied-this is the last chapter I'm uploading for today. I'll get the other two up this weekend, promise! i warn you that the next chapter is actually mature, eheh...  
_


	36. Chapter 35

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 35**

**_WARNING: MATURE CONTENT. Read at your own risk!  
If you would rather save your brain's virginity or just really aren't into such things, please skip to the next chapter. You won't miss much.  
ONCE AGAIN, WARNING._**

* * *

The next few days of the conference went by without any more harm done. As she had hoped, the discussions included other various problems around Europe aside from the recent drama and Emil hadn't given her a single bit of attention, dodging her when he could and escaping with Milena for some time. His impoliteness stuck out like a sore thumb, but Elizaveta figured that it was better than before, when he would give her his trademark glare.

Elizaveta tried to continue bonding with the other Nordics as well. Though it was difficult with Mathias around so often, she attempted to chat with each of the Northern European countries one on one to get to know them and their perspective and opinion of Mathias whenever she had the chance (even asking one of them to distract him for her). She had a few good laughs from the anecdotes they shared with her, for reasons like Mathias doing something out of playfulness to Valdimar that had irritated him, or trying to chase down Hanatamago for Tino. No matter what they told her, she could tell that her relations with the other Nordics had grown rather strong, with the exception of Eirik. Roderich came up to her twice to mainly check on her, but Elizaveta remained comfortably independent of him, needing to insist repeatedly for him to stop worrying. She sensed that he may still be struggling to adapt to her presence around the Nordics, but he was surely doing better.

Elizaveta herself recovered quickly, enough to be able to jump out of the car seat and steal her luggage into her home before Mathias could get out of the vehicle and do so himself, literally running away back to her house. Her arms, having been reexamined by the doctor again recently with positive results, heaved in the luggage without difficultly or strain after popping open her front door. She set it down beside the door and breathed in and out with a triumphant grin, her hands perched on her waist, enjoying the smell of her home. Kicking off her slippers, Elizaveta looked back outside to see where the Dane was, calling out to him before starting off into her kitchen, "Bella may have decided to give you the responsibility of confiscating my weapons, but I'm not letting you search through my house alone!"

* * *

Mathias was glad that the rest of the time spent in Brussels had gone along smoothly, with no further drama or tension being thrown into the mix of settling the various problems occurring on their continent. Valdimar had left with Berwald and Tino, allowing the Dane to drive Elizaveta back to her home and so that he could also carry out his assigned duty-to confiscate all and any weapons she possessed.

"_Hey!_" To no surprise the Hungarian had dashed into her home before Mathias could move a finger, and he just shook his head and sighed, leaving his car and locking it before entering the Hun's household, again hit by the wave of her scent, though he had grown quite used to it by now. As he kicked off his shoes he smirked as he replied to her comment. "That's fine with me-that way I can make sure I get everything." _Though I won't be able to look through some of her other stuff...wait._ "Though I hope you realize that since I have to look _every where_...you can't hide a single thing from me. Prepare for your secrets to be revealed-there's a reason Bella chose certain people for this task, y'know." He chuckled as he also went into the kitchen, running a hand through his hair as he looked around. _I wonder how long this is going to take._

* * *

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Elizaveta answered as she pulled out a drawer, not noticing her speech change from formal to informal one. Perhaps she had been teasing Mathias so often that her proper etiquette had just dropped. "Isn't that the reason why I said you weren't searching _alone_?" She flashed a smirk at Mathias as her hands grabbed a handful of knives and set them down on the counter, causing them to lightly clank against each other. Her hand then held up a fork to her face, seeming as if she was inspecting it for any stains. "And you're not going to get to know everything about me, Mathias. If you're going to read my diaries to know more about me instead of simply searching my house for weapons, then you wouldn't be doing your job, now wouldn't you? That's an _attempt_ to invade my privacy..." She returned the utensil she held back into the drawer, deviating from her original topic. "Do you think you'll have to take my forks as well?" Elizaveta moved on to another drawer, leaving the previous one open for the Dane to decide if he wanted to take the forks away.

_I guess I can't hide myself though,_ Elizaveta thought as she scanned through the variety of tools sitting inside the second drawer. Her fingers began sorting through the kitchen materials. _He'll find out about those doujinshis no matter what._ Even now, she didn't know that Mathias already _knew_ about them from his last visit. Her hand then discovered a fine butcher knife, which flickered a blinding reflection as she flipped it from one side to the other before adding it into the pile. Her gaze returned to Mathias, eyes narrowing slightly and voice lowering to display her seriousness. "...Are you really going to purposely do that?"

* * *

Mathias watched Elizaveta carefully, his eyes constantly looking to the knives, and chuckled at her reply. "Now, now-I never said I was going to read your _diary_...just that I'll have to look in every place to make sure you have no weapons stashed away secretly somewhere. In fact-you might have something sealed in one of them!" He teased her, then approached the drawer she had temporarily abandoned, looking through it himself, making sure all the knives had been picked out. He stared at the forks, then shook his head. "Nah. Technically, _anything_ can be a weapon. . .knives are a biggy, though. So I think you're fine." He closed the drawer, and again watched Elizaveta, eyes widening slightly at the large butcher knife, and found it to stand out among the other ordinary ones.

"...Purposely do what?" The Viking gave her a questioning look. "Read through your diaries? No, don't worry. I'm not _that_ bad." He flashed a grin. "But I _will_ have to look through every drawer and box. Just doing my job." On the last sentence, Mathias turned to grab a large container from the Hungarian's door, which he had brought in to put everything in. "I just hope you don't have...grenades or something kept under lock and key somewhere." He looked around, as if expecting some secret passageway to open up that led to a lair full of tools of destruction. "That would be most unpleasant."

* * *

Elizaveta rolled her eyes at his suspicion. Though, as ridiculous as it sounded to keep a weapon inside one of her diaries, she didn't hide her small smile. _He's just being himself,_ she convinced herself before nodding to Mathias when he gave his opinion about the forks.

She nearly sighed of relief, but released more of a silent 'phew' out of her mouth. Her diaries would obviously serve as embarrassment to her if the Viking read them, and the last time she came upon them and read a page or two of her long recorded past, Elizaveta shut it out of shame and tossed it somewhere deep in her stash of ancient personal belongings. As Mathias brought in a container, she carefully transferred the pile of knives into the box, making sure the blades didn't come into contact with either of them and laughed. "No, I don't. If you're curious, I actually don't have that many weapons on me." She followed the Dane's gaze, turning her head to the left and right with a grin before keeping her eyes on the container. "That probably won't even be half filled."

Elizaveta returned to her kitchen drawers, opening and closing each one until she searched through all of them, only adding two more potentially lethal tools into the container. She moved out of the kitchen and back into the hallway, heading to the stables at the back of her house. Her face shone as she smiled widely upon seeing her two horses, Leitha and Tisza, and strayed from what she was originally doing to approach and pet both of them, Leitha before Tisza. "I'm glad you two are doing alright," she murmured to the animals while stroking the black horse's muzzle. Its neck stretched out so that it could chew on the Hungarian's flower, but Elizaveta reacted in time to block its mouth with the palm of her hand, frowning.

"Don't you dare," she mumbled, then looked over to the feeder. "...Oh, hungry, aren't you? Very funny, trying to eat me instead..." Elizaveta quickly went off to refill her pets' food supply before pulling out a rather modern sword in its sheath and a rifle from the wall next to the door that connected her home and the stable. "These should be the only weapons in here," she told Mathias, then looked back at her horses, smirking for a brief second. "...But, if you like, you can double check."

* * *

"Not even half filled? Hm, we'll see about that." He watched her as she looked around, following her and making sure to inspect everything throughly, before following her to the stable. He crinkled his nose as the stench of horses hit him in a wave, and reminded him of the night he had come to the Hungarian's house. As his eyes settled on the horses, they narrowed as he made eye contact with Tisza. The Viking had not forgotten the trick the Hun had played on him, and as he stared at the strong creature, he couldn't help but notice he had a mischievous glint in his eyes. _Oh, if he thinks he's getting at me again…_

Mathias's attention snapped back to Elizaveta as she left her horses to retrieve the weapons, and he didn't miss the smirk that danced on her lips. He glanced at the horses again, then shook his head. "I trust you." _I'm not letting you get me again._ He walked out of the stable with the box, glad to leave the strong scent behind. "And if it turns out you _do_ have something in there...well, I guess I'll know that you're a liar." His voice sounded serious, though he mentally snickered. He set the box down in the living room, and started looking around. _Thankfully she has a small house, so this won't take too long..._

* * *

Laughter filled the air; Elizaveta smirked again at Mathias as she added in the rifle and sword into the collection. "Well, I don't have anything else, so I guess I'm not a liar." _He caught me smiling, didn't he?_ She returned into her house, fresher air cleansing her nostrils of the farm smell, and deviated from Mathias's path, heading upstairs rather than to the living room. As she pushed her foot against each step, Elizaveta murmured with some sarcasm, "You can stay down there, Mathias. I'll get the weapons out of my room myself." She wished she could have been more serious, and was actually hoping that he would stay down there - but knowing him, the Hun could tell that he wouldn't obey her. Instead of trying to stop him, Elizaveta decided to inspect her room first.

Her hands came to her waist one step into her room, scanning it from left to right like a panorama. "Where to start first," she spoke to herself, then walked over to her bed and knelt down to look underneath it. Immediately, Elizaveta frowned; there was a good pile of doujinshis slowly gathering dust. She quickly snatched them and popped over to her closet in what seemed like a second, putting the booklets in places were she hoped that the Dane wouldn't search through. _...No, it isn't worth the effort. It's hopeless, isn't it?_ Then her eyes came upon a long, thick box on a shelf at the top of her closet and widened. _Is that..._

* * *

Mathias noticed that the Hungarian hadn't followed him into the living room the moment he heard a foot on the step, and smirked at her suggestion. _Stay down here? Pah._ The Dane decided to leave the lower level of the house for later after sweeping one more glance and then crept up the steps quietly. He saw the Hungarian as she was looking in her closet, and remained quiet for a few moments before leaning against the door frame, a smirk once again decorating his lips as his eyes slightly narrowed. "Trying to make your room safe, eh? Sorry babe, but I've got to look through _everything_." He snickered lowly and took a step into the room, eying the drawer that he knew she kept her lingerie in for the careless bit hanging out of it.

"Oh, and don't worry-I already know about your fetish. So if you're trying to hide _that_ from me...well, it's a wasted effort." Another step into her room, another glance around. His eyes had found the flower from Tivoli, and he couldn't help but smile to see it still sitting as if it was still attached to its stem. Mathias then flashed the Hungarian a grin before starting to look around. _Oh, the wonders of a girl's room..._

* * *

Elizaveta, who had her arms and fingers stretched out in front of her, paused in the middle of trying to get down the box of interest in her closet to send Mathias a glare. However, she flinched and frowned when he confessed that he knew about her secret love for yaoi, and wasn't sure how she should respond, simply watching him slowly walk deeper into her room. Elizaveta recovered herself within a few seconds and answered coolly while smirking, "Oh, so you found out." She chuckled as she again attempted to retrieve the large box. "Just so you know, you're in for hell if you don't keep that to yourself." _Deep hell, Mathias._

Her fingertips brushed the edge of the box, barely moving it off of the shelf. Determined, Elizaveta lifted her heels off the floor, now on her tiptoes, and successfully grabbed a hold onto the object, nearly falling backwards due to the weight. Once she rebalanced herself, the Hungarian faced Mathias and carefully raised the lid, peeking through the tiny opening. Her expression turned serious, then reverently patted the cover back down. She levered her arms out, offering the box to the other nation. "Mathias, you better take good care of this, alright?" Unlike before, Elizaveta's voice was lowered and not in a mocking tone. "It's my sword, from the old days."

* * *

Mathias snickered, shaking his head. "Y'know, I think a lot of people already know...considering your obsession with taking pictures at certain moments. . ." His eyes drifted to the Hungarian's desk, where he saw her camera sitting neatly next to her computer. _It makes me wonder what she has on those things..._ Before he allowed his mind to wander, he turned his attention back the Hungarian as she presented him with the box. He gave her a sincere, and almost apologetic, smile as he carefully took the box into his hands, immediately feeling the weight of the precious item inside. "Don't worry, I will." He nodded, his voice confident and assuring. He carefully set it outside the door in the hallway, figuring he would either run for the container later or just carry everything down.

The Dane then smirked, returning to his playful attitude, and made his way to Elizaveta's dresser, opening the drawers to inspect for weapons. Mathias paused at one, restraining himself from letting out a snicker. Smirk widening, he opened it, and let out a whistle. "Well, well, what do we have here? You wear thongs?" He flashed her a grin, and let out another whistle. "And panties and bras with lace...that's hot." He rummaged around the drawer, and ended up finding a knife attached to the side of it. _Heh. Of course._ He slipped it out and threw it over to the door, then looked at the Hun, up and down, helplessly undressing her with his eyes. _For satan..._

* * *

Elizaveta frowned as Mathias peered at her camera, which was sitting next to her laptop. She recalled the last time she used it, and had taken advantage of the sleeping Dane when he had slept over the other night. _...No, I can't let him look through that...or my laptop._ After the weight of the ancient sword was relieved from her hands, her eyes followed Mathias out of her room. _Plus, he has no right to be doing that right now._

She cut herself off from her thoughts as she noticed a smirk played on Mathias's lips and crossed her arms, irritably tapping a foot against the floor as he dug through her dresser and drawers. For once, Elizaveta managed to hold off a blush from tinting her face, only glancing down at her body after the Nordic did. _For the love of..._ Elizaveta came up to Mathias and masked his eyes with a tight hand, also leaning his head back while her other hand shut the drawer he was looking through. "You may as well search my room for weapons without looking if you're going to be doing that."

* * *

Mathias, though his eyes had been covered as the Hungarian attempted to remove him from the treasure cove he found, grinned with mischief. "Oh, but that won't be any good...what if I end up slicing myself with some other hidden knife?" His grin turned into a dark smirk as he breathed in the sweet, flowery fragrance emitting from Elizaveta, feeding more to his lustful desire, _especially_ after his imagination just had a pretty good time from searching around her lingerie.

His hands made their way to her waist, immediately pulling her towards him and against him as his tongue lashed out at her wrist, trying to get her to remove the cover on his eyes. "You know..." His voice was low, seducing. "...we're in your room. Alone. The two of us." His hands slowly slid towards her hind as he snickered. "And I think I deserve something for being pretty patient this last week."

* * *

"No, you're not _that_ stupid to cut yourself," Elizaveta insisted, glancing around her room to see where she should guide the Dane. "In fact, I don't think I have any other knives in here. But if you do happen to be that stupid, shouldn't you be taking it like a man?" She laughed, but then squeaked quietly as his tongue tried to attack her hand. Her arm had jumped up to try to dodge his tongue while continuing to curtain his eyes, but felt a brief touch warm her cool skin anyways, causing her shoulders to flinch and shiver slightly. She frowned, though before she could scold him, she absorbed Mathias's words and immediately understood what he wanted. Elizaveta shrieked once more, louder this time, as his hands traveled to her hind, not having noticed - rather, minded - them previously on her waist. _What..._

"Deserve something?" Elizaveta repeated, shifting her fingers slightly on Mathias's face. Her voice was hinted with some nervousness, as she was hoping he was jesting and decided to tease him. It wasn't helping that her lower body had pressed up against his from his contact with her hind. "Oh, after all you've done for me? Well, of course you deserve something, but don't you think we have something else to do first?"

* * *

Mathias was still smirking darkly and widely, especially from her reactions, and chuckled lowly. "Oh, that can wait...I'm in no hurry. Just as long as I don't leave without completing that task." He pressed up more against her, lowering her face to hers and breathing on her lips, his hands still on her hind. "And exactly. I deserve something. And I think now is a pretty good time for me to get that something." His tongue slid slowly across her lips, squeezing her hind as he did so.

Before she could refuse or attempt to break away, he locked her into a kiss, gentle at first. The Viking again was feeling intoxicated-her smooth skin, her delicious taste, her tantalizing scent and _oh_ her finely shaped body which was now completely against him. There was no holding him back now-no, the moment was too perfect and the opportunity too tempting, and soon he strengthened the kiss, allowing their lips to passionately dance with each other as his tongue slipped into her mouth.

* * *

_Oh my god, he isn't joking._ Elizaveta stared at Mathias, obviously perturbed and nerved by his expression, and lost count of how many times she had opened and closed her mouth to talk back or reject him. His eyes, she noticed, displayed the lust a Viking would - and it told her that Mathias was in his Viking mode once again. At this point, it would be difficult for her to back away - but Elizaveta would never be discouraged to stop a challenging situation.

However, she found her morality and judgment swiftly blinded by her own lust, sharply inhaling through her parted lips as he swept his tongue across them and getting carried away with the kiss Mathias had trapped her with. Her hand that once shielded the Dane's eyes had slid up to his hair, running her fingers between his locks of hair as Elizaveta felt their bodies exchanging heat; with her eyes closed, the Hungarian returned the kiss just as passionately, though her brain clicked when his tongue escaped into her mouth. Her eyelids shot open immediately, exposing her rather fearful green eyes, and her sane self slowly came back to her.

"Mathias," she choked out as if to warn him of his intense desires, pushing him away from her and attempting to take a few steps back. Elizaveta didn't want them to be doing this - no, not now. It felt _wrong_. But something asked her a question that left her pondering: _why are you resisting the man you want to be with?_ She couldn't find the answer to that question - she seemed to know, but at the same time, she didn't. _What is it...?_

* * *

Mathias without doubt was happy beyond belief as the Hun returned his gesture, but as she broke off, something she had done so many times now, he felt that happiness diminish. Though she was pushing him away, he absolutely had no intention of letting her get her way this time. His lips curved into a frown as he stared into her eyes, noticing the fear and nervousness presented in them. At the same time, he couldn't help but feel slightly angry that she was pushing him away, and found himself to be right in front of her with her legs now pushed against the foot of her bed.

"What?" He spoke quietly, though there was a slight edge to it. "Are you telling me that you're still not comfortable being with me, like this?" His hands took a hold of her wrists, leaning in as he once again breathed onto her lips. "Elizaveta, I can't stand it anymore." He murmured, his lust evident. "I _want_ you in ways you can't imagine. So why are you holding back now?"

* * *

Hearing his voice like that tore Elizaveta apart - he had asked the same thing the voice in her head did, and again, she couldn't find herself to answer it. She wanted to satisfy him, let alone _herself._ _Of course I'm comfortable being with you,_ she desperately hoped to say, finding it rather surprising he questioned her about that in the first place, yet couldn't.

Her eyes had shut as she felt his breath warming her face, forcing herself to bend to Mathias's will (though struggling), and whispered back to him, "I don't know." She wished that she could have said something better, feeling as if she wouldn't pass with those simple three words. But her inner voice seemed to hear her reply and offered her a solution that stunned her.

_It's Roderich, isn't it?_

A realization hit her. She had come upon this situation before. It _was_ him - it was _Roderich_ that was holding her back. She had been so loyal to him that she had been taught not to ruin her image in front of others, learning and adopting his proper and mannerly demeanor not just when she was around him but also when she was alone, with others. Doing something that seemed so sinful made it seem like she was going to betray Roderich.

But she wasn't with him anymore, now was she?

Elizaveta was as free as any other nation - she could do whatever she wanted and she didn't have to listen to anyone else if she didn't so desire. Besides, she had Mathias now, who seemed to display dedication to her more than Roderich did; their relationship wasn't a political one, like hers and Roderich's marriage had been. They had surely fallen for each other for other reasons, which caused the Hun to confidently tell herself, _Screw Roderich._

A smirk appeared on her face, and Elizaveta's eyes opened only slightly to leave them narrow. "No, nevermind, take that back," she murmured, taking her response in a different direction. Her head leaned in, leaving only a centimeter of space between their lips, and she continued, her voice seductive and eyes encouraging the Dane, "I want you as much as you want me." She dove into yet another vicious kiss with him, her hands wrapping around Mathias's body and yanking at the back of his shirt, and never felt so happy to disregard all the concerns she once had.

* * *

_I don't know._ The Dane had narrowed his eyes. _I hate that answer._ He was about to retort, but could almost _feel_ this internal struggle that the Hun was going through, and instead waited, his eyes locked onto her face, not even slightly loosening his grip on her, but stood silently. He had to struggle not to say or do anything, and just about lost it when he saw Elizaveta open her eyes and the smirk which changed her expression.

He eyed her lips before looking back into her eyes, and as she murmured his bitter thoughts disappeared as his lips reflected her smirk, which widened against her lips as she locked him into yet another kiss, even more vicious and passionate than the one they shared only moments earlier. His own hands moved to her waist before slowly trailing down to her thighs, and then back up again under her dress. The Viking pushed a bit forward which caused both to topple onto the Hungarian's bed, though without breaking the kiss, his hands again traveling up her body, enjoying the smooth feel of her skin. Never had he been so happy to be with another in a moment like this.

* * *

Elizaveta felt Mathias's weight on her and fell backwards onto her bed, her flexibility allowing her to bend that far down without suffering from pain. She was glad that he didn't break off their kiss, as she had begun to lick his lips and sneaked her tongue into his mouth like he had done to her earlier, and her hands searched for the end of his shirt to drift beneath, rubbing his body affectionately. A pleasant shiver flew down from head to toe as the Dane's hands caressed her skin, but then she noticed something else - he was topping her. The smirk on her lips widened as well, and Elizaveta thought, _That will change soon._

* * *

Mathias shuddered as the Hun toyed with his mouth, and fought her tongue back with his. His blood began to rush and he snickered deeply as he felt her hands sneak under his shirt, his own quickly moving to remove her dress, the cloth sliding off her skin, and discarded it to the side. The Viking pushed his lower body against hers, a hand running through and pulling at her hair as he continued the kiss, his tongue now finding itself far inside her mouth.

* * *

Elizaveta felt an outside force fight back against her tongue, startled at first, though she didn't give in so easily - after all, her power didn't reside in just in her legs in arms, but everywhere else too. Though she had not yet run out of breath and wasn't intimidated by how far his tongue had traveled, the Hungarian released their kiss to begin unbuttoning Mathias's shirt with her teeth in return for stripping off her dress, finding it more fun to remove the article of clothing without the use of her hands, which had slid off from his body and rested on her bed. She then placed a gentle kiss onto the Dane's neck and collarbone before slipping the first button out of its slit, murmuring against his skin, "I'm wondering if I should make this difficult for you..."

* * *

Mathias allowed his breath to be regained as their mouths parted, his eyes darkened as they opened to look down at her, smirking as she began to remove his shirt, entertained by the fact that she was using her teeth. He released another low snicker, his eyes going down towards her chest. "Make it difficult for me? Whatever do you mean by that?" One of the Viking's hands slipped down to her breasts, toying with them as he shifted slightly to make it easier for Elizaveta to reach the buttons on his shirt. His hand then moved to slip under her, reaching for the hooks of her bra and fumbled with it until he managed to succeed, and pulled it off, adding it to where he threw the dress.

* * *

Elizaveta, not used to being so exposed to other nations, instinctively pressed her upper body against his, which prevented her from removing any other buttons on his shirt past the second one. She let out a low but calm moan as his hands massaged her breasts, lying still for a moment before her own hands decided to move, one again covering his eyes and the other shifting across the bed and under her pillow.

"Don't play dumb with me, Mathias," she replied, grinning. Elizaveta explained her words to him anyways. "I was saying that I should make it hard for you to get what you want, because, after all..." The hand hidden under her pillow withdrew with a pistol in its possession, which slowly made way to Mathias's neck, the end of the weapon softly pressing against his skin as it clicked quietly. "...I had said that it wasn't much fun if things weren't challenging."

* * *

Mathias grinned at her moan, though his lips curved into a frown as his eyes were once again covered. He shifted so that his hands were now pressed against the bed on either side of her, and scoffed lightly. "I'm-" He cut himself off as he felt cold metal against his skin. It caused a shiver to run down his spine, the _click_ confirming his suspicions, and he stiffened. _Of course._ He was quiet for a moment, the barrel of the pistol seeming to taunt him. Yet he felt his blood rush once again as an ominous grin appeared on his face.

"You know I love a challenge." He growled lowly, and in fact pressed more against the gun so that if he stayed there long enough it would make a light mark on his skin. "But the thing is. . ." He brought one hand to his mouth, licking his fingers. He then masked the hand she had on the gun, before slowly tracing his fingers down her arm. He then slowly lowered his face closer to hers, whispering darkly. "You won't win."

* * *

Elizaveta's grin strengthened as she watched Mathias react to her gun, though the Hun widened her eyes in slight surprise when the Viking seemed to encourage the pistol against his neck. Her finger remained on the trigger for a moment longer, eyes staring at the gun's barrel until they closely watched Mathias's movements. She could feel her arm tingle from his wet fingertips, leaving streaks of cold, thin layers of saliva on her skin; Elizaveta chuckled deeply from his determination and lowered her arm with the gun, setting it on her bed and protecting it with a hand.

"Oh?" she questioned, gazing at his mouth before shifting her head down to his neck, her mouth coming into contact where the gun had been before as if replacing it. Elizaveta lightly bit him there before continuing, "Well, I hope you know you'll win only because I let you, not because I can't win myself."

* * *

Mathias hid his relief when the pistol left contact with his skin. His eyes still covered, he could hear her shifting, and soon felt her warm breath against his neck, replacing the feeling of the cold metal that had been present only moments before. He inhaled sharply as she bit him, then slowly exhaled, his body overall relaxing. "I never said you _couldn't_. . .just that you _won't_." The Viking disliked having his eyes covered, but knew how to deal with it. His hand slid down her arm and to the hand that covered the pistol. "And sorry, but that needs to be confiscated." He managed to force his hand under hers and grabbed the gun.

Turning the tables, he brought the barrel of the gun at her stomach before slowly tracing it up to in between her breasts. "I have to admit, that was quite the move." He snickered lowly, then tossed the gun off of the bed, forcing his head down towards her chest. "Trying to cover my eyes won't help any, dear." His tongue began to toy with one of her breasts as his lower body began to rub against hers. _Won't help at all._

* * *

"...Right," she murmured, half heartedly agreeing with him. Elizaveta sighed and again watched Mathias take the gun away from her, yet tensed up as the barrel of the gun pointed down at her stomach. Remaining calm though beginning to breathe irregularly, she carefully kept her eyes on the weapon and let some air escape from her mouth once it was tossed aside. Her arm shifted accordingly to the Dane's movements, still covering his eyes, until she felt his lower body tease hers in which her hands returned to his torso while she groaned. Elizaveta's head fell back to the bed.

"You know that I wouldn't shoot you anyways." The Hun suddenly sent her strength to her arms and legs, allowing her to roll to her left and forcefully shove Mathias down on the bed, her body hovering over his and legs on either side of him as she finished unbuttoning his shirt, planting kisses onto his stomach and chest soon afterwards. "But I wouldn't let you top me."

* * *

Glad to have his sight again, he smirked as his eyes laid on the Hungarian as she groaned, his own breath coming in a faster rate. He chuckled quietly, responding to her statement. "I know that-" Again, he was cut off as he felt his body being forced off and down on the bed. The next thing he knew Elizaveta was on top of him, looking quite smug. The Dane leaned his head back as she pleased herself, enjoying the feel of her soft lips on his now quivering skin. Mathias let out a slow exhale. "Doesn't mean I can't." He then shifted his head to look at her, smirking once again, eyes narrowed. "But I wonder if you can even do a decent job at topping."

* * *

Elizaveta chuckled as well, raising her head slightly and stopping herself from kissing his body to reply to him. "That's going to be your universal answer to everything, isn't it?" Her eyes met with his as she laid out her hands on his body, stroking the muscles the creases formed. "I guess it can't be helped because it's true. And as for doing a decent job at it..." Her fingers trailed down to the rim of his pants, loosing eye contact with Mathias as her eyes followed her hands, and began to slowly and gently massage his weak spot. A smirk took over Elizaveta's face while she murmured quietly and seductively, "That's for you to find out."

* * *

"It is." He snickered, but it faded as he felt her fingers trail down his body and he no longer found himself to be looking into her eyes. Mathias watched her, but ended up dropping his head back and struggled to resist groaning from her teasing, though failed to do so. His breathing rate again picked up, a slight tint of red discoloring his cheeks. ". . .I guess I will." He managed to get out, his voice low, and he arched his body slightly as he pushed his crotch more against her hands, encouraging the Hun. "...So far, you're doing a half-decent job."

* * *

Elizaveta exhaled as the sound of his groan rang through her ears; she hadn't heard something so pleasant in such a long while. She kept watch for Mathias's reactions, and never had wanted so much in her life to stop what she was doing to grab her camera and steal a picture of the Dane in such a state. _Witnessing it is good enough,_ Elizaveta guessed, knowing that ruining the moment would drive Mathias insane.

Her own blood finally began to rush when Mathias pushed back against her hands, and gladly increased the power of her massaging but only by a slight bit. "Half-decent only because I've just started." Elizaveta wouldn't get carried away with this without teasing the other first - _things are better that way, after all._ Breathing gradually becoming heavier, Elizaveta again used her teeth to undo his pants, taking her time to undress Mathias.

* * *

Mathias chuckled quietly, though that quickly changed to yet another groan escaping his lips as she continued to toy with him. _Fuck._ The Dane shifted slightly, though immediately stiffened and held his breath as he felt the warmth of her breath as she undid his pants, his length begging for release as his breathing became heavier. He knew she was purposely being slow, and it was irritating the hell out of him as his impatience grew. Mathias's fingers dug into the bedsheets, his legs slightly twitching from the Hungarian's movements, and finally replied to her statement. "First impressions are everything."

* * *

"We'll see about that," Elizaveta challenged him, and shifted around to make it easier for her to yank off his pants before kicking them off of his legs with her feet. She bent lowly back down to audibly huff at his length that was only protected by his boxers, hands now holding down his fidgeting legs, then moved her body up to meet the Viking face to face, her hair dangling and tickling the sides of his face and chest. "Impressions can change, my Viking." One of her legs slid up between Mathias's legs and rubbed up against his crotch, replacing her hands and further teasing the Dane as her hands traversed from his legs to the sides of his body to caress them.

* * *

Mathias grit his teeth as he felt once again the flood of warmth on his protruding length, causing him to arch his back, though found himself to once again be looking into the deep green eyes of the Hun. His eyes narrowed, and he opened his mouth to respond, but instead found a low moan releasing instead as he felt her knee rubbing up and down his length. The Viking huffed, bringing his own hands to her waist. "M-maybe they can." His breathing had gotten heavier, making it more difficult to speak, and slid his hands up her body to again toy with her breasts, massaging them as he shifted his head to slowly lick up her cheek before murmuring: "But it isn't changing yet."

* * *

Elizaveta let out a longer moan as Mathias's hands returned to her breasts, as if in exchange for receiving a noise from the Dane himself. A purr rolled in her throat before she chuckled once again, setting her leg outside his to brush her crotch up against his. "Again, we'll see," she responded lowly, then licked up his neck while her hands came back down to the edge of his boxers to remove them and expose his lower body. She wasn't driven by impatience yet - even if it was tempting to speed up the pace, Elizaveta managed to maintain her composure, her heart thumping against her chest only two notches higher than it should be.

* * *

Her moan only excited the Dane more, and he growled deeply in response to her vibrating throat. Mathias managed to refrain from groaning this time as she continued to tease him, and he felt another chill run through his body as he became fully exposed and he felt the trace of saliva on his neck. Her smooth skin rubbed along his own, and slid his hands down her body again, fingers now entwining with the band on her panties. "We'll see." With that, he pulled them off, leaving both of them in the nude. The Viking looked at her lustfully, hungrily, and taking advantage suddenly grabbed a hold of her and tossed her to the side, making quick to pounce on her, like a lion on its prey. "But you're going a little slow for my liking." He snickered, and bent down to bite harshly at her neck.

* * *

Mathias's touches around her underwear only nerved her, unusually causing her blood to shoot up in flow and her body to shudder. Her eyes had closed, and didn't expect to be overturned so soon, snapping her eyes open again to become aware of her position and surroundings. Again, he was topping her, and Elizaveta frowned slightly - but before she could snicker back at his words, the Hun yowled in some pain but much delight, her hands stiffening from his bite. It was then that she realized how vulnerable her body felt but at the same time how much she wanted Mathias, the only source of warmth coming only from where he physically contacted her, leaving her skin open to the cold air in her home and her body needing to be pacified of her sexual desires; she panted steadily, one hand tearing at his blonde hair and the other quietly making way to grope his hind, encouraging his lower body to move down. Her eyes narrowed and gazed darkly at the Viking as Elizaveta groaned out, keeping her mischievous tone in tact, "Then why don't you keep enlivening things up?"

* * *

Her yowl was a pleasure to hear, his eyes further darkening as he slightly moved away from her neck, stifling a groan from feeling her fingers pulling at his hair. The chill of the room was also getting to him, causing him to press up against the Hun for warmth, and as he felt her hand slide to his hind, he widely smirked, again enjoying her groaning. He shifted his head to bring his lips next to her ear, and whispered with an obvious ring of ominous boding. "Oh, don't worry, I will." The Viking allowed himself to loose control and let go of any inhibitions, and rubbed his length against her now wet vulva while biting at her ear. Unable to resist any longer, he brought his hand down and rubbed her clitoris, further teasing and exciting her.

* * *

Elizaveta sharply gasped, an uncontrollable force stimulating her to nuzzle her face into his, her eyes closing and her lips urgently searching for his until she managed to contact them, greedily, longingly, and intensely kissing him, though lacking some accuracy in making their mouths fully against each other; she moaned for an extended length of time, her legs spreading apart as his hands galvanized her hormones and her own body arched upward, craving for more. Her hands squeezed at his hind once more in an effort to get Mathias down on and in her, while her legs shifted around uneasily, hoping that Mathias would read her thoughts and do what she wanted him to.

* * *

The Dane attempted to shift his head so that their lips could properly meet, engaging in the passionate kiss with full gusto, and feeling her hand once again, he snickered in the back of his throat. Her moan, high in pitch, and her body which now pressed up against him more than before, added together with her legs now fully leaving her open-without a second thought, Mathias removed his fingers and pushed his length into her, the new flood of warmth and wetness causing his blood to rush more than before. A small groan escaped from his mouth before he slowly continued to push into her, reaching a high as waves of pleasure ran through his body.

* * *

As she had rather desperately yearned for, Elizaveta felt Mathias enter her, letting out an accompanied, content but high moan against his lips, also quickly achieving her peak as she herself started pressing her lower body against his crotch more. Her hands moved from his hind to his back, arms tight around his broad body while she aggressively continued the dancing movement of her mouth with his. The Hun's groan earlier, in addition to their position, caused her to pant heavily and quite audibly for air, sipping in oxygen wherever she could in the middle of their kiss. Elizaveta wasn't ready to release his mouth just to recover her breath - in fact, she somehow enjoyed the struggle of multitasking to satisfy her needs.

* * *

Realizing that the Hun was viciously keeping hold of the kiss, the Viking invaded her mouth with his tongue as he completely pushed his length deep into her, releasing a loud groan into her mouth. He also took advantage of any moment that he could regain some breath, allowing it to flow in and out of his mouth as their lips and tongues battled each other. He managed to growl in the back of his throat before beginning to thrust his length in her, slowly at first but gathering speed quickly as he deeply penetrated the Hun, his hand now running through and pulling at her thick, long hair, comforted by her own arms wrapped around him, as tightly as they were. He felt beads of sweat begin to form on his skin, his body temperature rising considerably as he continued to work his way inside Elizaveta.

* * *

As Mathias's tongue slithered back into her mouth, Elizaveta gagged slightly, unexpectedly losing more air and gaping open her mouth a bit more without purposely breaking off their kiss to allow oxygen to refill her lungs. But after each proceeding thrust, her mouth eventually ripped away from his to drink relatively large amounts of air as taking in tiny streams of it no longer proved to be efficient for her. Her lust was great enough that she had easily reached her climax in just seconds - a climax that seemed too easy to get, but one that she thought she would never have.

* * *

_**A/N:**_

_...whistle and walk away_


	37. Chapter 36

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 36**

* * *

She woke up the next morning, not exactly remembering what had happened last night. Elizaveta knew that she had committed something - somewhat bad, if she could put that very bluntly - and wasn't sure how many _times_ she had did it. She didn't want to know either, but she had opened her eyes to the sight of Mathias lying nude in her bed, glowing under the morning sunlight. Her body ached, but didn't ache as much as it would when she lacked sleep.

Elizaveta quickly sat up, noticing that the bedsheet that had _somehow_ been pulled over her slipped off to reveal her own naked body. She flinched in alarm at first, glancing back at Mathias as if she feared that he would witness her, but instead found herself staring at the part of the Dane she had uncovered as she sat up. Her mind had wandered for at least a minute before she kicked herself mentally out of her happy world and wobbled off of the bed, picking up the various articles of clothing lying around on her floor - again catching herself staring at the pattern on Mathias's boxers - before she decided to finally head off to shower, setting the pile of clothes neatly beside the door. Elizaveta glanced back once last time at Mathias, but then noticed how..._vulnerable_ he seemed.

_...I can't miss this._

She ran back to her desk in her room, grabbed her camera, returned to her bed, and knelt down against the bed with her device up to her eyes, quickly snapping a photo before putting it back down next to her laptop with satisfaction and locking herself in her bathroom.

* * *

The distant sound of water rushing from the shower mixed with the usual morning music of birds and wind causing chimes to sing gently woke the Dane. He slowly blinked his eyes open as they adjusted to the morning sunlight filtering through the curtains. He shifted slightly and was reminded that he was in the Hungarian's home and, not just that, but in her room, on her bed, and in the nude. Mathias inhaled slowly, taking in the mixed scents now present in the room, and slowly got up into a sitting position. He felt certain tingles on his back-_scratch marks._

He slid off of the bed, and saw his clothing by the door. He stole a suspicious glance at her camera and laptop, but decided to let them be and instead walked over to pick up his clothes. The Viking couldn't help but allow a smirk to appear on his face. It wasn't hard to remember the night before-after all, for _once_ he wasn't intoxicated, allowing the moments of the night to easily replay in his mind. His body felt sore in several places, and he didn't mind. _Just the way I like it._ Slipping on his boxers, he ran out to his car to grab some fresh articles of clothing, throwing in the ones he had worn yesterday, and went into the bathroom he had used on his previous visit to Elizaveta's home.

* * *

Elizaveta hadn't noticed her own scratches and pierced skin until the water gave her a burning feeling as it soaked her skin. The stinging urged her to exit her shower earlier, making her bathe for a much shorter time than she usually would have; she muttered out a short string of complaints to herself aloud as she quickly dried herself with a towel, looking into the mirror to examine herself. She sighed when she noticed her shoulder oozing out some blood, some stitches that had not yet been removed also misplaced.

_No wonder._

The Hungarian stared at her skin for a moment longer before tending to them, doing her best not to strain herself in rebandaging herself. Having forgotten to grab new clothes, Elizaveta decided to come out with only the towel screening her body, allowing the bathroom door to slowly creep open first before coming out. She peeked her head out through the opening, checking to see if Mathias was up and about. Discovering a part of the clothes pile gone and another water source running from a different room, Elizaveta deemed it safe to return to her bedroom and get dressed in something light. After doing so, Elizaveta had her eyes set on her bed, thinking about the night before.

The expression on her face may have suggested that she was indifferent or even regretful about it, but she truly enjoyed it. A smile, possibly a smirk, found its way to her lips before she fixed the bed sheets and headed downstairs.

* * *

Cold water washed over the Dane, waking him up and making his body feel refreshed, though his skin tingled for various reasons. He soon enough got out and slowly dried himself off, lost in thought. Looking into the mirror, he examined his body-he couldn't exactly see his back, but marks on his neck were enough to tell him what the rest of his body looked like. Another smirk crept onto his lips before he got into a t-shirt and jeans, reminded of the soreness in his body as he moved. He ran a hand through his wet hair before ruffling up to give it its usual messy style, minus the gel.

Quietly opening the door, Mathias peered around, listening, and heard some movement in the kitchen. He walked as silently as he could towards the smell of a cooking breakfast, and peeking into the kitchen, saw the Hungarian busy at the stove, her back to him. He observed her for a bit before creeping up behind her, sliding his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder. He murmured softly, soon after smelling her damp hair: "Good morning."

* * *

Elizaveta's shoulders twitched strangely as she half-restrained herself from overreacting, trying to get used to Mathias's presence. She turned her head to him after getting comfortable in his arms, enjoying his warmth and murmuring a soft "good morning" before pressing her lips against his cheek with a grin. "You picked the right shoulder to set your head on," she added, chuckling. With a spatula, she deftly flipped over a _Gundel palacsinta_ in the making. "Have you finished searching my house yet?"

She wasn't expecting him to say 'yes' - he had gotten up soon after she did and, though she believed that there shouldn't be any other weapons to confiscate, Elizaveta didn't think he could have completed his job in such a short amount of time. After all, they had gotten..._carried away._ It was strangely both pleasant and unpleasant to think about.

Telling herself to stop pondering about it, Elizaveta added on other foods including walnuts and raisins, and ingredients to the thin pancake, then folded it into a triangle. She transferred it onto a plate, put the finishing touches onto it, and finally held it up to Mathias's face. "Here, eat first. You should try something new."

* * *

Mathias smiled as he felt her soft lips on his cheek, in response gently nuzzling hers. His eyes went to what she was making, looking at it with interest, before his attention returned to the Hungarian. He chuckled before replying, his words coated in sarcasm. "Oh, of course-I totally had the time to do that." A smirk flashed on his lips for an instant before he shook his head. His arms slowly slipped off of the Hun as he straightened back up to allow her to move freely as she finished preparing the breakfast item.

"Alright, _mor_." He teased, taking the plate from her and blinking at the triangular treat, which looked, well, delicious. He took a fork and took a bite, feeling a mix of flavors burst in his mouth, all sweet and sugary. And then. . ."Rum?" He took another bite, chuckling quietly. "This is really good. Quite the sweet tooth, eh?" He flashed her a grin, his eyes glancing down her body. "Hmm, probably explains that butt of yours." Again, teasing, and immediately took a step away as he took another bite to escape getting hit by Elizaveta, laughing with his mouth full.

* * *

Elizaveta glanced at the Dane's face to double check his words, making sure he wasn't correct. His smirk told her enough, and she was just about to return to cooking another one until she glared at him for his Danish. Attempting to ignore it, Elizaveta picked up her spatula and murmured, "Just a little rum, before you start dancing around like a mad drunken fool." She laughed as well, but found herself swiftly cutting off her laugh to instinctively toss her spatula at him, which moved at the speed of a well thrown dart. However, she had missed him by a good foot as she tweaked her throw slightly when she realized just in time how much the kitchen tool could hurt him...considering her strength. Despite how far it traveled, it clanked almost deafeningly and inharmoniously to the ground.

"Right, you sexually unsatisfied dog," she countered back, thinking of nothing better to talk back with. Elizaveta lazily slugged off to retrieve the spatula, then returned to the kitchen and washed it before finally cooking another pancake. "But I expect that you like my butt this way, right?" A smirk made way to her face, eying Mathias darkly. "Seeing how many times you groped it last night..."

* * *

The Dane's eyes widened when he saw her throw the spatula, nearly stumbling backwards to avoid it, but sighed with relief as she had changed her aim anyway. He winced as it hit the ground, but turned back to the Hun with a dark grin, snickering quietly. "Sexually unsatisfied dog?" He repeated, watching her as she returned to the stove, himself taking another bite of the scrumptious breakfast. The next words halted in his throat at her question, and he swallowed them back down at her remark. His lips mirrored her smirk as his eyes narrowed.

Mathias returned her gaze, setting down the now-clean plate, and came up behind her. "Oh, I never said anything was _wrong_ with this-" His hands traveled down and squeezed her hind. "I am perfectly content with your ass." He snickered again, shifting his head so his lips brushed her ear, and spoke softly. "And don't act like _I_ did all the groping, you untamed feline."

* * *

Elizaveta jumped in surprise as she felt a pair of hands grab her hind, eyes temporarily moving out from its narrowed state; she quickly released the spatula onto the counter to lock his wrists with her hands, turning her head to his as his warm breath huffed onto her ear. Her smirk returned and further spread across her lips. "Good," she replied, her voice just as low, then snickered. "Of course, Mathias...though, 'untamed'? You shouldn't be the only one saying that." Her head leaned to the side and shifted slightly, moving her lips closer to his as if about to kiss him, though freed his wrists after pulling them away from her hind to gently push away his face, her other hand taking back the spatula to flip over the now cooked batter. "I hope that small bit of rum didn't get to you."

Noticing the empty plate, Elizaveta blinked and gave the Dane a questioning look. "Do you want another one? If not, you should look through the rest of my house for weapons." _I would follow along to make sure he doesn't get eye candy from my clothes, but..._ She shook her head slightly. _It really doesn't matter anymore._ The Hun well knew that Mathias, too, was aware of her secrets.

* * *

Mathias grinned mischievously at her response. "I didn't say it was only you." He had moved in for the kiss he thought he was about to receive, and frowned as she pulled away and pushed him back. However, that frown twitched into a smirk, and he coolly replied. "Pah, you should know better than that-I'm not Arthur." He chuckled, shaking his head. He eyed the stove, but let out a small sigh. "Nah, I'm good-that was pretty heavy in itself. I guess I'll just go and check the rest of the house."

He went up the stairs, figuring to finish up there before looking around the first floor, and escaped into the Hungarian's room. He stood there for a while, his eyes scanning it, to look for any potential hiding spots, and of course, for his own enjoyment. A smirk alighted his face again when he his eyes fell on the bed, and, with a shudder, remembering the pistol the Hun had pulled out on him the night before, carefully examined around and under it and everywhere in between, but found nothing more. He continued moving through her room and her bathroom till he was sure he checked everywhere, the only thing to be taken care of was a small dagger concealed behind her mirror.

Before he left, though, he just couldn't resist. He looked through her clothes, smirking at some of the more revealing garments, wondering if he'd be able to see her in those, just for the sake of it. Then his attention turned to the drawer that he had been looking through the night before, and he contently went through it again. His lips couldn't seem to shake off the smirk he had and he slipped one of her thongs out, and balling it up, stuffed it in his pocket. Satisfied, the Dane looked through the rest of the upper floor, finding nothing more, and returned downstairs with the few weapons in his hand, dumping them into the container in the living room.

Then he made his rounds throughout the house, looking up and down everywhere, just in case there _was_ something else, and he didn't want to miss it because that would spell trouble if it was caught. He found a few swords, which he quietly bundled up before putting them in the container. That was about all he could find, and a small slingshot, though he wasn't sure if that counted as a weapon or not. Finally done with his search, he closed the container and fell back on a sofa, sighing with relief. _Well, at least that's done with._

* * *

Elizaveta slowly shook her head as well as she repeated the process to make another _Gundel palacsinta_ for herself, adding the extra ingredients onto the pancakes again. However, her inner paranoia got to her and she kept an eye out on Mathias as he disappeared into her house. While folding the _palacsinta_, Elizaveta promised herself, _I'll hurt him if I find out that he decides to take advantage of this._ Little did she know he did.

Her eyes remained on the hallway as she set her many breakfast dishes out on the table, patiently taking up each of her own foods and focusing her ears to pick up any noises from around the house. The most she could hear was Mathias's feet walking along her floor upstairs and some things shifting here and there - but sometimes there was silence, which would leave her suspicious and perhaps a bit worried for herself until she heard him start moving around again.

She watched Mathias every time he passed by, either carrying some of her weapons or nothing at all (which was when she would quickly scan him from head to toe, secretly admiring his body). When he finally finished, Elizaveta had tossed in the last bit of strudel she had left into her mouth, chewing and swallowing it before stacking the dishes and glancing at Mathias on the sofa. She smiled slightly at his small exhaustion after some labor and went to the sink to wash her plates, then went over to the sofa to offer the Dane a cup of coffee. "Here, Mathias." She scrubbed his head with a hand. "For being so _dutiful_ in your work." Her voice acting displayed her teasing, and she kissed his head to make up for disheveling his hair. "You don't seem to have any plans today, do you?"

* * *

He could hear her shifting around and the run of the tap, as well as the clinging of the plates, and for some reason these sounds soothed the Dane-he figured it might have just been that it sounded like a home, but he wasn't sure if that was it either. Mathias smiled faintly as Elizaveta offered the hot beverage to him, taking it out of her hands and cupping it with his. His lips twitched into a slight frown as he felt his hair ruffled, but he quickly inhaled the Hungarian's scent as she kissed him, closing his eyes temporarily.

Slowly opening them again, he shook his head, leaning back and letting out a sigh. "I think I was pretty damn dutiful." A grin. "And no, I don't, not really...other than getting back home at some point." His eyebrows knitted slightly at the thought, knowing he'd have to leave her once again. The Dane's hand reached out and lightly encircled her wrist before he gently pulled her into his lap, his arms around her, still holding the coffee, and kissed her cheek. "Do you?"

* * *

Elizaveta permitted the Dane to take a hold of her once again, never (or at least most of the time) bothered by his touches, and comfortably settled in his lap, sneaking her arms around his neck and nuzzling his face as she received a kiss. "No - unless my boss decides to call me in, of course." Quietly and perhaps more melancholy, she added, "I'm quite the loner here." She was used to being alone; often, she didn't mind. However, there were those rare occasions when Elizaveta would just get a very small spark of loneliness, which would infect her for usually the rest of the day. She would even go out into Budapest once in a while to exchange a few words with her people and entertain the children, probably much to her boss's dislike - but she couldn't help it. There was no one else to go to especially if the other nations were occupied with their own issues.

She, too, had noticed Mathias's disappointment with the thought of having to return to his home country soon, the warmth from his body one of the few things that told her so. She shared the same feeling, though to a lesser degree as she learned to cope with it beforehand. Her head snuggled into the crook of the Dane's shoulder, murmuring gently into his neck with a small smile, "If you need to leave, I'm alright with that." She chuckled and widened her grin from another thought. "Not that I don't want you to leave, obviously. Though, if you do plan on staying, do you have anything we could do in mind?"

* * *

The Dane watched Elizaveta as she spoke, raising an eyebrow in amusement, despite the sad look in her eyes. _That makes us both loners._ He couldn't help but think back to the first day that had sparked all of this-the fateful day that he somehow ended up in the Hungarian's territory, and in just a couple of days how both realized how similar they were. Similarities that no one else could see, at first glance, but going deeper, undeniably that connection was there. Maybe it was something that only he and Elizaveta could see, but that's all that mattered-no one else, not their opinions, because they couldn't, in Mathias's mind, understand the bond that existed between them, even before that day.

Mathias shifted his head, slightly burying his face in her hair, smelling it as he inhaled. He was filled with the scent of fresh-blooming flowers and another feminine scent that he couldn't quite place. He chuckled quietly, his coffee still cooling in his hands, and he let a smirk play on his lips. "Oh, there are _plenty_ of things that we could do." His voice was a seductive purr, purposely teasing her as he gently breathed on her ear.

* * *

Elizaveta grinned as she felt Mathias's face dig into her hair, but then carefully sat up to look at him face to face for his innuendo. Her face gave him _the_ look, an expression that most women seemed to share and be able to pull off particularly to their significant other as a sign of silent disapproval, then murmured as if nothing was wrong, "Well, if you don't have anything in mind, then I'd like to take you somewhere." She thanked herself for thinking of this certain "somewhere" earlier, when they had talked about their eventual departure. Elizaveta began to squirm around slightly to get off of Mathias's lap, staring at his hands to make sure she didn't knock the beverage out of his grasp, and stood in front of him with a bright smile while gently and encouragingly pulling on his arm.

* * *

Mathias chuckled quietly, again amused by the Hungarian's reaction, examining her face (though, he couldn't help but feel a slight pinch of disappointment as well). His eyes stayed locked onto her as she squirmed her way out of his lap, and managed to take a few sips from his coffee before being tugged onto his feet. "Take me somewhere? Now where would that be?" The Dane raised an eyebrow at her, curious about where this "somewhere" was and why she seemed to want to take him there. He bent in slightly to peck her lips. "Well, since you seem so wanting to go, I won't mind." He flashed her a smile, and once again rose the coffee mug to his lips, taking in a large amount.

* * *

Elizaveta at first laughed, nearly believing that Mathias was hoping for something more than what she was planning. _I'm not letting him get another round so soon._ She waited until Mathias chugged down the coffee before taking him off to the front door of her home, locking her fingers with his and grabbing a jacket on the way. "Don't hope for too much. It's nothing big," the Hungarian told him while sliding her shoes onto her feet. "It'll be quite a walk. But I don't think you would mind, Mathias, since _you_ decided to come all the way down here from your house by foot." She expected him to be very capable to walk long distances, especially if her destination in mind was still within her own country.

* * *

Mathias set down the now emptied up in the Hungarian's kitchen as they passed by to reach the front door. He got into his shoes and laughed, rubbing the back of his head with a hand. "Yeah...not that I really even paid attention to how far I was going. I was pretty lost in my thoughts that day." He stretched, also grabbing his jacket that he had thrown aside when he had entered Elizaveta's home the previous night. "Though now you have me _really_ curious...and also why we're walking there instead of driving." He glanced outside at his car. _What's on her mind?_ The Viking tapped the toe of his shoe on the ground a couple of times to make sure it was on properly, then waited for the Hun to lead him.

* * *

Elizaveta only returned a small smile to Mathias's words. "With a car as fancy as yours, I don't think it would be smart to be driving that around too often," she murmured, slanting down the ends of her eyebrows slightly as Elizaveta locked the door and lead him westward. "I'm sorry to have to leave your child behind." A smirk blinked on her face before sneaking a look at the vehicle, exposing her eyes to the sight of the sleek silver car for a few seconds longer. Though it was a car worthy to awe upon, it was too modern for publicity in her country. _We should drive only when we absolutely need to._

"It doesn't hurt to get some exercise either, right?" Her hand remained clasped in the Dane's hand, gently tugging him as she walked ahead of Mathias. She tilted her head back a bit, observing the warm but bright blue sky with some clouds fluffed out across it. The teasing breeze cooled down the temperature of the sunlight that pressed upon her skin. _Perfect weather today._ "You haven't had a taste of the climate of a landlocked country, too."

* * *

"If something happens to my 'child', I'll make sure that you'll be responsible." Mathias teased, also looking at his car, somewhat longingly, before continuing down the road. He chuckled quietly, allowing himself to get tugged along, almost as if purposely trying to hold Elizaveta back. "I get enough exercise, thank you." The Dane looked around as they walked, enjoying the breeze that dance through his hair and clothes as the warmth of the sun filled him.

"And no, I haven't-it's strange not being able to smell the sea." He inhaled, and sure enough, not a trace of oceanic scent was there. Instead, he caught scents of fresh flowers and earth, trees and something else he couldn't place-something unique to the area, probably. "This is like how my summers are...my land is known for being wonderfully cold." He laughed, slinging his jacket over his shoulder.

* * *

Elizaveta released a short laugh, then twisted her head around to give the Dane her attention. "After spending that first night in your castle, I can't agree with you more." She turned her head back to see where she was walking and followed along a cobblestoned path for almost a good half hour until it eventually lead the two into a bustling city of moderate size, enlivened by the energy and chatter of the Hungarian civilians. Cathedrals of Romanesque design though with a hint of Gothic and Baroque styles loomed over the smaller buildings populating the city center they had entered. The city emitted a sense of historical importance to Elizaveta's country.

"Welcome to _Győr_," the Hun chirped, shooting Mathias a grin. Remaining silent to allow Mathias to absorb his new surroundings, Elizaveta continued to drag him across the city, keeping a secret eye out for those who gave them looks in case they may recognize either of them, and entered a more dense area of the town as they arrived at a farmer's market. She let go of Mathias's hand to dig around her pockets for money and purchase a bag of fresh foods. "This isn't exactly what I want to show you, but you can still look around if you like."

* * *

Mathias chuckled, continuing to allow himself to be tugged along. The walk actually felt quite pleasant, and as they came upon the town, the Dane nearly had to stop to capture it all (though he was dragged along behind Elizaveta, so even if he wanted to, he couldn't). "Nice." He murmured under his breath. His eyes examined the various structures around him (he did have a forte for architecture, after all), while his ears picked up on the various noises around him. The chatter of the people, which he obviously couldn't understand, and the usual buzz of a town, thrown in with a couple of street artists.

His attention snapped back to the Hun, and he watched her make the transfer of payment for the food before slowly nodding. Putting his hands in his pockets, his eyes scanned the area again, and tried to avoid any stare that was thrown in his direction. _I probably stick out like a sore thumb here._ Shaking the thought from his head, Mathias raised an eyebrow at Elizaveta. "Alright then. What was it that you wanted to show me?"

* * *

Elizaveta, after trading a small amount of money for some apples and grapes, glanced among the crowd, as she felt Mathias's unease. "This way," she instructed, escaping from the populated market. She would have grabbed a hold of the Dane's hand again, in case he lost her, but her arms were occupied with the two bags of food she carried. _Let's just hope he can differentiate me from my people._

The nation continued down a path until there was an opening to behind the city, straying from the main road to eventually come upon a riverfront. The area was noticeably more tranquil, lacking the blended murmurs of the people that the heart of the town had; a stone wall separated it from the rest _Győr_. At the top of one of few staircases to the river were two children, giggling loudly as their mother carefully watched over them. Elizaveta shot Mathias a threatening look, trying to tell him _don't make fun of me for this_, before approaching the mother and offering her the just-bought goods. The mother gasped in delight and exchanged a few lines of Hungarian with Elizaveta before accepting the bags and quietly questioning in heavily accented English, as if she wanted Mathias to hear her, "And who is this man with you, Edina?"

Elizaveta twitched slightly and uneasily; she was not used to the name just yet, a name that she had to substitute her own with for security reasons. The country, too, now had another small dilemma, which involved Mathias. The corners of her lips tightened temporarily. "Oh, him?" She turned her head around, taking a quick look at the Dane and urging her brain to come up with something fast. "He's a close friend. His name is Frederik."

* * *

Mathias followed closely behind the Hungarian, hands still thrust in his pocket as he glanced now and then around him, but otherwise making sure he didn't lose Elizaveta in the crowd. He relaxed a bit as they seemed to leave the busy town center behind, which allowed him to look around more. _There definitely seems to be a story behind this place..._ As the Dane was lost in his thoughts, he was abruptly brought out of them when he nearly crashed into the Hun. Blinking, his eyes wandered over to the mother and her children, and simply watched Elizaveta make her way to them, curious.

Mathias glanced between the children, mother, and bags of food now held in the mother's arms, before again looking at the Hun. _She's giving food to her people..._ That wasn't too surprising-he was sure all nations couldn't help but try and help out their people in anyway possible. What did catch his attention though was the sudden English from the conversation, causing the Dane to stand a bit straighter. _Edina?_ He glanced at Elizaveta, and slowly approached, though still standing a couple of feet away. _...Frederik?_ Wondering where she pulled the name from, he nodded to the woman. _Who is she. . .?_

* * *

The woman again switched languages, murmuring lowly but smirking slightly as she spoke in Hungarian to Elizaveta. The nation smiled slightly before turning her head away shyly, and once she felt ready to speak without showing her flustered self, she looked back at Mathias. "This is Ilona. Luckily for you, she's one of the few people I know who can speak English aside from Hungarian."

On the meanwhile, Ilona had called out to her children, who had been preoccupied with their fun at the edge of the river. Realizing that Elizaveta was here, they scrambled up the staircase to run up to her and hugging her legs while crying out "Edina!" with their high pitched voices. The children were noticeably in their early childhood and only a year or two apart in age; and though they were full of energy as the youth usually were, their skinny bodies told Elizaveta that they weren't in the best health. The country was shot with one question after another, also in English - "You brought food for us, right?", "Will you play with us?", "Are you going to stay with us?" - but neither of the two expected an answer, or perhaps forgotten about their questions when their eyes settled on Mathias. Elizaveta could tell that, even if the Dane's height was intimidating, they were truly curious to know more about the man. She bent down onto her knees to properly meet the children face to face.

"Miklós, Kinia, you've always wanted to go out to the seas, right?" The kids bobbled their heads up and down eagerly. Her eyes looked out the corners of their sockets to again peek at Mathias. "Well, I've brought someone special. His name is Frederik, and he lives right next to the sea..." _I don't think I can last long with calling him Frederik._ "...And he's been living his life sailing it. You two should talk to him about it - he doesn't bite, even if he's incredibly tall." As the children's faces beamed, Elizaveta smiled at Mathias, giggling quietly. "Right?"

* * *

"Nice to meet you, Ilona." Mathias flashed the woman a smile. He couldn't help but think how obvious his Danish accent came across as he spoke. He watched her call to the children, who looked so small and fragile yet bursting with energy, their eyes brightly lit and curious. Seeing those children as they excitedly surrounded the Hun, the Dane couldn't help but feel a small twinge in his heart-one of sadness. It was never a pleasant site to lay eyes upon, and he himself had a reputation of spending a great deal of money to help the less fortunate.

He blinked in surprise as Elizaveta addressed him-or well, this sudden person he had become-and then approached the small group, also squatting down, which greatly reduced his height. "That's right." Mathias chuckled quietly. _Is this why she brought me here? For the sake of these children..._ "Though, I might not be able to resist if I get particularly hungry." He teased, lightly pinching one of the children's arms. "I come from up North. Denmark, to be exact. I'm a sailor of sorts, you could say. So why are you two so eager to see the sea?"

* * *

The children turned their focus back to Mathias, completely intrigued by his strangely spoken words, though inched away towards Elizaveta as he knelt down. They were still frightened, yes, but as the Dane reached out to pinch one of their tiny stubby arms, both Miklós and Kinia giggled brightly while trying to further shrink away. However, the two ended up standing openly in front of the total foreigner instead, no longer huddled around the Hungarian nation. Miklós, the boy, spoke out first.

"I wanna go to the sea because I wanna go explore beyond the land!" He threw up his hands into the air, obviously unable to keep his enthusiasm bottled. "_Anyu_ said that the ocean and seas are too far away from home and the Atlantic is too dangerous. But I'm so tired of seeing just land!"

"Will you take us there? To the sea?" Kinia, the other female child, questioned, her puppy eyes nearly begging him to allow her to go. But Elizaveta noticed a worried expression appear onto Ilona's face upon hearing her child's words; she understood that she didn't want her children to be out on their own as they were still young in age, and it aroused more fear in the mother to send them away and out of her protection, as much as she wanted to fulfill her children's wishes. There was more to be concerned about than just that - they could potentially get lost, get kidnapped as they pass through the other countries, and could possibly get killed. Ilona had to repeat herself to convince the two kids to stay in Hungary, though gently scolded them, "Remember what I told you about going to the sea? We can't go there."

There was a group "awww" humming out from Miklós and Kinia. But Kinia suddenly perked up at an idea, and suggested, "Can we go down the river? Will it take us to the ocean?"

* * *

Mathias smiled as the children seemed to become a tad more comfortable with him. His smile widened into a grin as he saw the boy's enthusiasm, though he had to listen carefully due to his heavy accent. He chuckled, then turned his attention to the girl, and was immediately struck by her pleading eyes. _Not the first time I've seen that look before..._ The Dane was about to respond when the mother spoke up. He blinked at her before again looking at the children, raising his eyebrows as they showed their disappointment.

"The river?" Mathias looked to where the stream of water was located, and again chuckled. "Well, all rivers have to empty out somewhere right? So yes, eventually you would reach the ocean, or sea." His smile became sympathetic. "But it would take a long time. You all are pretty inland." The Viking looked over to the Hun, and then to Ilona. "I wouldn't mind taking them. And you could come too, Ilona, and..." The Dane had to catch himself. "...Edina too. It'll be safe."

* * *

Elizaveta smiled at the children's seemingly limitless energy and excitement, glad that the two appeared to be ecstatic to have Mathias around. She noticed Miklós and Kinia retreat to their mother, who offered them the fruit that the nation had bought for them as they begged and pleaded to head down the river. It took her a moment to realize that Mathias had used her other name, and turned to look at the Dane while the family was occupied. "If we continue following this river northeast, we should reach the Danube, and that would eventually take us to the Black Sea." A concerned smile came upon her face. "...But are we really going to do this? I'm sorry I had to bring you into this...you reminded me of these two."

Nearby, Ilona seemed to give in to her children's wishes, but wasn't completely convinced yet. She approached Mathias and Elizaveta, Miklós and Kinia closely behind her and chattering away to each other, and murmured to prevent the young from hearing her, "I would prefer not to come along." Elizaveta had the impression that she was attached to the Hungarian land and didn't want to go outside of her comfort zone. "I don't want them to be too far away from here either...is there any way you two could remain nearby?"

* * *

"Eventually is the key word there." The Dane replied quietly. If he remembered correctly, the Black Sea wasn't too close by. "Besides," He glanced at the children. "Following the Danube from here would mean going through a lot of other territory-including Emil's." The river had the reputation of being the second longest river on the continent after all-and from his memory it passed through Bratislava, the capital of the Slovak nation. "I think that's really the last thing you want right now."

He snapped his attention back to Ilona and the children as they approached. He smiled sympathetically again, nodding. "That's understandable. Staying close by, though. . ." Mathias shook his head slightly. "They want to see the ocean, and it'll take a while to get to one from here." He looked again at Miklós and Kinia, unable to push away the thoughts of how much they reminded him of Valdimar and Tino when they were young. The Viking made eye contact with the mother, and spoke quietly, though reassuringly. "I can understand if you are too uncomfortable with it, but I can take them by car for some distance. Edina will be there with us, and then we'll head back. But only if you allow it."

* * *

Elizaveta frowned slightly, recalling that the Danube did run along the border of Emil's and her own territory; but her worries temporarily swept away as Ilona answered with a surprising "I'll allow it." The mother had come upon the thought that this was her children's possibly only chance of fulfilling their dreams, and it was either that she would have to let them go off on their own eventually to pursue their happiness or live to see their saddened faces for the rest of her life. Trust, on the other hand, was a different issue - she didn't know Elizaveta personally all that well, but there was nothing bad she could see from what the nation had done for her. Miklós and Kinia were stunned themselves, but shrieked in happiness and ran into Mathias and Elizaveta, embracing them tightly with their little arms.

"I promise that they'll be safe," Elizaveta swore, obviously abiding to her responsibility as a nation. _Ilona truly doesn't know who she's entrusting her children to._ She then quietly directed her words and attention to Mathias, remembering something. "And don't worry - erm, Frederik." _Eep! Get it to yourself, Elizaveta. Rather,_ Edina. "Don't worry, as long as we're on our side of the river, we should be alright. Plus, he lives in his capital, and that sits next to the part of the Danube before this river and the Danube merge together. We'll be okay." Her eyes lowered to Kinia's. "Come on, there's no time to waste, you two! We're not going to be by the sea for more than a day."

* * *

Mathias also looked at Ilona in surprise, and couldn't help but laugh when the children showed their joy and came running to them. He swept Miklós up into his arms, surprised at how light and easy he was to pick up, and set him on his shoulders. Mathias could feel the bony structure of the child, signs of his obvious undernourishment, and sighed quietly. He could very well understand why Elizaveta was so assisting to this family-nations in particular felt the most pain from such situations.

Mathias grinned at the mother of the children. "Don't worry one bit-nothing will happen to these two as long as we're around." He nodded his head in Elizaveta's direction. _If only she knew who we really were..._ The Dane turned his attention to the Hungarian again as she quietly assured him. "Right. Well, let's get moving, then!"

* * *

_**A/N:**_

_WOOOO LESSON TIME.  
And sorry for where the last chapter left off, eheheheheh.**  
**_

_Gundel palacsinta_ - _It's a common Hungarian type of palacsinta or crêpe-like pancake. I haven't tried one myself unfortunately, but it does look good. Google it and you'll see what we're talking about. :'D_

_Mor_ and _anyu_ - _it means "mom" in Danish and Hungarian, respectively._

_Győr_ _is, according to Wikipedia, the most important northwestern city in Hungary. The Rába River runs through (beside? along?) the city, which is where Denmark and Hungary meet Ilona and her children. _

_**xNeyu:** I'll admit that I was laughing several times while reading this chapter. There are a few inside jokes **Amerzt** and I have with the things we put in there, but the one that I can probably (and only) explain is the name Frederik...should I explain it? No? Yes? Yes. I find it amusing to talk about._

_SORRY IF I SERIOUSLY RAMBLE AWAY, I WANT TO TELL THE ENTIRE STORY._

_So at school, we have a flag pole, and since we just returned to school, my school decided to write down "welcome" in different languages around the flagpole since we have so many international students at our school. I've been studying Danish on my own (shut up, I officially want to live in Denmark) and my friend, knowing that I've been studying Dainsh, pointed out to me that "Velkommen" was one of the few "welcomes" written around the flagpole. I was wondering why the hell it was there, but was at least happy to see it there._

_But then I was told that there as a boy from Denmark that attended our school and I completely spazzed out when I heard so. I had jokingly suspected that boy to be Danish when I saw him at our school's football game (my band classmate pointed out that he was cute, actually) because he looked so much like Denmark. It's actually ridiculous how so many Danish boys look like Denmark from Hetalia. But I didn't even know that he was Danish until someone told me. He's probably so confused why all the girls (and even boys) at my school are fawning over him (and all the other girls most likely have no interest in living in Denmark like I do hahaha) - BUT. UH. SORRY. Point is, his name is Frederik, and I decided to use that in this RP for the laughs because I've told Amerzt all about him too. xD_

_/ramble_


	38. Chapter 37

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 37**

* * *

Miklós and Kinia cheered in happiness as they set off to the ocean after saying their goodbyes to Ilona, who had watched them depart until they were no longer in her sight. Elizaveta glanced back now and then to check to see if the mother was still there, in that same spot staring at her children, and smiled slightly. _She's still worried about them, isn't she?_ The Hun sighed silently as she carried Kinia on her back, her arms supporting the weight of the girl. Of course, she had no strain from trying to keep her there.

As the siblings described what they predicted the ocean would look like, mainly taking their details from books and stories, Elizaveta closed the distance between Mathias and herself, walking alongside him, and quietly murmured, "It really looks like we're heading to the sea at this rate. I don't particularly mind, but..." She shook her head. "As you said, it's quite the long way. Should we take a detour?"

* * *

Mathias chuckled at the excitement emitting from the children as they walked down the bank of the river. He listened to their descriptions and thoughts about the sea, occasionally humming in agreement. He perked up as he felt Elizaveta move closer to him, his gaze now focused on her as they continued their stroll. The Dane nodded slightly before letting out a sigh, responding quietly.

"Yeah-but, I'd feel bad if after promising them, we don't actually show them..." He thought about it for a while, eyes focused again ahead of them. If there was anything that Mathias could relate well with, it was having dreams crushed, and he did not want that fate to fall upon the two young people. Then his eyes alighted as he thought of an idea. "Hey, Eli...I'm sure these two haven't experienced a jet ride either. What do you say?" His lips curved into a mischievous grin. _We'll get to the sea in no time that way, too._

* * *

"...and it'll be so wide that we won't be able to see anything past it!" Miklós finished off, then entered into a happy daydream as he rested his chin against the Dane's hard head, hiding a portion of his face in the locks of blonde hair. His nose twitched before the boy gazed down at Mathias's head and sniffed audibly. He giggled, directing his words to his sister, "Hehe, Frederik smells like a girl."

As Kinia snickered quietly with Miklós, Elizaveta, who wasn't paying attention to what the kids were saying, perked up and nodded in agreement to Mathias's suggestion, grinning. "That sounds great. We'll make it back well by a day, too - let's head to an airport, there's one close by." _Oh, right, we should at least ask _Miklós_ and Kinia if they're willing to go on an airplane in the first place._ She twisted her head around to look back at the girl and gently tapped her leg with a hand. "Kinia, Miklós - what do you think of the idea of flying to the sea?"

The youth shot up their bodies in great surprise. "_Flying_?" they both repeated, obviously stunned. As members of the low class, they had no such luxury; they couldn't dream of anything better at the moment. The boy of the children asked, "You mean like...those airplanes?" When he saw the Hungarian nation confirmed his question with a bob of her head, he exchanged a beaming expression with Kinia and cheered once again and began rambling on with Kinia about the sky and the airplanes just as they did with the ocean. Elizaveta smiled, her heart filled with so much joy to see them this way, and murmured particularly to herself, "If only I could make all my people this spirited..."

* * *

Mathias managed to catch Miklós's comment, and slightly jerked his shoulders in an upward direction, murmuring to him: "That's what happens when girls decide to spray their perfume all over the place." He snickered quietly and turned his attention to Elizaveta once more, grinning. "Sounds like a plan, then!" The Dane looked upwards, as if to see the boy on his shoulders, and laughed quietly as the children again exploded into a fit of happiness as they marveled in the luxuries they were about to experience.

"Don't we all." He whispered quietly to the Hungarian. What could be more perfect than a united, spirited people? It was what any nation wanted-rather, what the world wanted. Shaking his head slightly to stop himself from delving deeply into the thought, Mathias continued to walk as he followed Elizaveta in the direction of the airport. _Hopefully they'll have a private jet we can take..._

* * *

Elizaveta gave Mathias a rather accusing look, aware of how false his words were. She shook her head, quickly disregarding the Dane's answer as she immersed her thoughts into deep thinking again, but Kinia continued on with the topic. "You don't smell a lot like perfume, Edina, so why does Frederik smell like a girl?"

"...You know, Kinia," Elizaveta began with a strange and ominous tone of voice. "The Danes are just a bunch of dirty troublemakers. I got mad at Frederik earlier today because he was being a total idiot today, so I sprayed my perfume all over him." She grinned at the young girl, but smirked at the Viking while the children laughed away.

They reached the airport in a short few minutes. The female nation glanced around, pondering for a moment. _I've never walked into an airport empty handed before...maybe..._ Elizaveta bent down to the floor, carefully releasing Kinia. "I don't think you should be on my back in here," she suggested, in which the girl obeyed without a word to retort, though felt her tiny hand sneak around her pinky finger to hold onto as she straightened back up. Elizaveta was startled at first, but then smiled; she couldn't help but to think that she was simply a mother to many, just as she essentially was for Feliciano and Lovino.

She walked up to an employee nearby, murmuring lowly in Hungarian. The employee appeared as if he was about to burst up into the air and point out Elizaveta in public, but seeing the country's expression, he tried his best to remain calm and quickly carried out his duties for her and her airplane, keeping quiet about Elizaveta's identity. As the man did his work, the Hunnic nation turned around to glance at each of the members of her group. "I think we have our own plane."

* * *

Mathias shot the Hungarian a look, and scoffed, and glanced up at the laughing children. "The Danes, huh? Way to be stereotypical. I could say plenty of things about Hungarians, but I'll refrain." He shook his head and continued to walk in the direction of the airport, glad that it wasn't too far of a walk. He kept Miklós on his shoulders, watching Elizaveta walk off to talk to one of the employees. He watched carefully, and his thoughts were confirmed when she returned to tell her little tidbit of news.

"Our own plane, huh? Perfect." He grinned, giving the Hun a knowing look, then gently lifted the boy off of his shoulders and settled him on the ground before squatting in front of the children. "Your lucky day-get to see the sea, and get to travel there, first class!" He wondered if the children would get suspicious-they were certainly curious enough that they would wonder why the group was getting a private jet. _We can probably tell them on our way over...maybe it'll make them even happier._

* * *

Miklós soon found himself moving off of Mathias's shoulders and laughed as he was set down onto the floor, no longer feeling as tall and powerful like he did on the Dane. Elizaveta watched them as Kinia rejoined her brother, then the children displayed their usual, dreamy looks whenever they had the privilege to do something.

"First class sounds like something really important!"

"Duh, Kinia!" Miklós answered as if it was too obvious to not know. "Didn't you hear Frederik? We get an airplane to ourselves!"

Elizaveta laughed. _Those two are so adorable!_ Nearly forgetting the reason why she was here, she turned around to check on the airport staff member, who had finished his phone call just as the nation gave him her attention. More Hungarian words came out of his mouth for only a second or two, though was enough for Elizaveta to understand, and the Hun immediately started following him. Miklós and Kinia had picked up those words as well, pulling at Mathias's pants to get him to catch up and even fruitlessly trying to drag him across the floor.

"Come on, come on, Edina's going, let's go too!"

* * *

Mathias laughed at the children as they conversed, then perked up as he saw Elizaveta turn her attention to the staff member. Before he himself could make a move, he felt his pants being tugged forward, causing his feet to slip slightly, and waved his hands. "Alright, alright! Calm down, kiddos. I'm going." He followed after the Hun while holding the hands of the children, one on either side. He glanced around and saw the usual stares, but tried not to give any notice.

The employee led them through one of the terminals into a more private one, before leading them outside. There, a sleek jet plane was waiting for them, portable stairs set up to the open door. A flight attendent stood by the base of the staircase, and smiled brightly as she saw the small group approaching. "Welcome, _Magyarország__, __Dánia_." She spoke just loud enough to hear over the already whirring jet engines, and motioned for them to climb the stair and enter the flying vehicle. Mathias nodded to her, though glanced at the children. _Well..._

* * *

Elizaveta exchanged a smile with the flight attendant, but her thoughts weren't as bright as her expression._ They recognize Mathias. If they know about the two of us together, it may spread everywhere...if it hasn't already._ She gripped a different part of the handrail for every step she took up the staircase, raising her voice to make sure the attendant could hear her "_ksznm_" before turning around to check on Mathias and the two children.

Miklós and Kinia had been jumping up and down ever since they had glimpsed at the airplane, yanking around Mathias's arms wherever they happened to hop and land. But when they heard the flight attendant greet the nations, they immediately ceased being hyperactive and stared wide eyed at each other, not believing what they just heard. Rather frighteningly, the two kids stretched their heads far back to take a peek at the Dane's face, then glanced at Elizaveta as well. They remained silent for the rest of the walk into the airplane.

The interior of the airplane had only a few seats, though more than the number of people in Elizaveta's party, but it was surely spacious; less people on board simply meant more, faster service for them when they needed it, and the addition of the table and TV hanging from the wall added to the luxury. The Hun, remembering that this was the children's first time on an airplane, turned to her young citizens. "You two are very lucky to come onto this airplane, especially if this is your first. Not all of them are like this one." She frowned as she read their worried faces, bringing concern to her. "...What's the matter?"

Miklós and Kinia had backed away a centimeter or two, turning shy when Elizaveta spoke but still clinging onto Mathias's giant fingers with their small hands. It wasn't until the second right before Miklós answered that she realized that they knew what she was supposed to keep a secret: "Are you and Frederik...really _Magyarország_ and _Dánia_?"

* * *

Mathias followed after Elizaveta up and into the airplane, kids in tow. He knew by their sudden silence and lack of hyperactivity that they had heard the attendant. He let out a quiet breath of relief as he saw the plane was of good size, and that too luxurious. _This will certainly make their day._ His attention went back to them as the Hun spoke, and as their shy voices rang out, the Dane exchanged a glance with Elizaveta.

"You two have to promise to keep it a secret, okay?" Mathias knelt down once more so that he was closer to their eye level. "You can't even tell your mother." He huffed gently, shaking his head slightly. "What a day, huh? Going to the sea, traveling by plane, and now you're in on a top secret." He smiled at them. Though many could recognize the nations if given enough time or inclination, it was no surprise that they would try and keep their identities hidden when traveling about, especially in situations like this. "Yes, we are. Now, pinky promise you won't tell?" He held out one pinky to each child, glancing between them.

* * *

The two little Hungarians flinched as Mathias met their heights and told them they couldn't tell their mother about the nations' identities; their mother was the one and only person they could share just about anything with, and to be restricted from that disheartened them. But because they were dealing with _nations_, who had so much power in their hands, they had to obey - plus, they could always secretly talk to each other about it when no one was paying attention or listening to them. After looking at each other one more time, as if they had the same telepathic powers as Eirik and Valdimar, Miklós and Kinia nodded eagerly and intertwined their pinkies with Mathias's and simultaneously agreed to keep their secret.

"Promise!"

Elizaveta blinked in slight surprise with how Mathias dealt with Miklós and Kinia. She hadn't expected him to come into a deal with them and treat them with such kindness. _From what I remember, none of his brothers liked how he treated them..._ She began to think to herself. Was it because Mathias had treated them badly, or did they simply not appreciate what he had done for them? Elizaveta exhaled quietly and slowly shook her head. _It has to be the latter. _

After Miklós and Kinia darted away into the airplane, Elizaveta looked over to Mathias. "You just love children, don't you?" she chuckled, barely smirking. "I thought you were going to act like one when you started talking to them."

* * *

Mathias grinned at the children, and watched them as they ran off to explore the plane. He had seen their hesitation, but was glad that they got past their shyness and hoped that the two would be able to abide to their promise. _Then again, they are kids..._ The Dane turned to Elizaveta, and scoffed at her comment.

"Act like a child when I started talking to them?" He shook his head. "What good would _that_ do?" Mathias then faintly smiled, his gaze wandering back to the kids. "I guess you could say that though-about loving children. Though I think it's more that I've had plenty of experience with them." He huffed, thinking of his endless toils of raising his fellow Nordics. Each had a different personality that he had to deal with...Berwald, the rebel; Eirik, the moody brat; Tino, the quieter one; and Valdimar, the extremely inquisitive one. Overtime their personalities had changed, but as children they were quite the handful to deal with.

"The plane will be taking off shortly. Please be seated." The flight attendant had peeked into the compartment that the group was located in. The Dane nodded to acknowledge the woman before calling to the children. "Miklós, Kinia, time to get buckled up."

* * *

Elizaveta laughed once again. "Of course," she agreed without a doubt, remembering the days that she raised the two Italian brothers. If anything, Mathias had a similar experience with dealing with children - except, he was perhaps on the bottom of the hill because he had four rather than two to care for. _Even Lovino wouldn't cause that much trouble because he didn't want to upset me, since I seemed good looking to him._

The children, who were on the tips of their toes to peek over through the windows and witness the surroundings from such a height, sacrificed a few more seconds to enjoy their view before retreating to Mathias and Elizaveta. The Hungarian nation was able to pick up Kinia's call to sit beside the Dane as she settled down comfortably on one of the chairs, and soon found Miklós bouncing into the seat beside hers and grinning widely. Kinia had snatched a pillow from one of the other seats, embracing it tightly, and sat down nearby her brother. She looked up at Mathias curiously, remembering their promise just a minute ago. "So...what's it like being a country?"

* * *

Mathias chuckled quietly as the kids assembled themselves and got comfortable in their seats. He had settled comfortably in a seat, leaning back. _Hmm, when was the last time I flew? Not too long ago…_ He was snapped out of his thoughts as the girl questioned him, and the Viking looked down to meet her ever-curious and innocent eyes. He huffed softly and shook his head. "Well, it's got its good and bad points." He smiled, glancing at Elizaveta as if to confirm his statement. His eyes wandered to the ceiling as he pondered over how to word his reply.

"It's awesome knowing what you are, but at the same time, it's stressful and has a lot of complications. We can't live like normal human beings-" Again, a glance at Elizaveta. "We're old, _really_ old, but you could never tell, could you?" Mathias grinned. "Every time something big happens in the nation, we can feel it somehow. Economy in a wreck? We get colds. Some major conflict going on, we feel pain." He then looked around, as if what he said next shouldn't be heard by anyone other than the four sitting in the compartment.

"And, actually, we know every single one of our people. One look and I could tell you the name of a Dane, what he did. Because essentially, the people are the nations. So..." He looked at Elizaveta a third time, then down at both children. "You're connected to her-a _part_ of what she is. Kind of. Like I said, it's really complicated."

* * *

As Mathias explained to them the lifestyle of a nation, Miklós and Kinia paid close attention to him, imagining what it would be like to be in his - or Elizaveta's - shoes. To hear how different the countries were from them and human beings in general was rather frightening, as they were children, after all. Elizaveta could see this fear in the Hungarian kids, but she had to say that there were times, though not too often, when she felt like any other human. In fact, she felt way right now. She easily understood why: her time with Mathias allowed her to forget her concerns and enjoy life when she had the spare time, which she used to spend worrying over trivial matters. While thinking about this, she caught Mathias looking over to her and reciprocated a smile, unaware that she was confirming his words.

"...So...Magyarország knows _everything_ about us?" Kinia questioned once again, in which Elizaveta mentally slapped herself out of her own head and looked over to the girl. The young girl wanted to test this and returned Elizaveta's gaze. "Do you know my favorite animal?"

The nation, not expecting this, laughed heartily. "No, not like that," she answered gently, grinning from amusement. Elizaveta gave Mathias an entertained glance. "But I did know that you and your mother need my help."

A _ding_ played seemingly out of nowhere to the children, and an announcement in heavily Hungarian-accented English welcomed the nations and warned the passengers of the plane for lift off. A flight attendant briefly stopped by to check that they were seated and buckled, the rumbling and humming of the airplane increasing as the giant machine seemed to wake up, and soon afterward the flying vehicle started vibrating as it began rolling away from the airport. Miklós and Kinia had their eyes glued to the window.

"Sometimes it makes me wonder if I was this lively when I was younger," Elizaveta murmured to the Viking, quietly sighing.

* * *

Mathias chuckled at Kinia's question, shaking his head slightly. He returned the Hun's glance, and then turned his attention to the flight attendant. The Dane watched the children as they looked on with wonder and amazement, though he perked up at Elizaveta's quiet and gentle voice. He smirked, leaning back in his seat.

"_If_ you were that lively? Eli, come on. I don't think we could survive back then if we weren't." He murmured back to her. Mathis displayed a sad smile, obviously referring to the hardships all nations faced in their young years-a true struggle to survive, which more or less did not get much easier as they grew older. _New world, new problems._ He sighed, running a hand through his wild, blond hair. Soon, they were airborne, and the captain alerted them over intercom that the flight would take about an hour. "We hope you find everything acceptable."

* * *

Elizaveta wore a confused expression at first, though it quickly changed and reflected Mathias's, showing the same kind of smile. She realized that if she wasn't as lively as Miklós and Kinia in her childhood, then she, her country, and her people probably wouldn't be where they were at the moment. "You're right," she agreed, her eyes averting to the children again. The two had scurried off once more, this time exploring the private jet and awing over the high quality passenger cabin while wondering why in the world their ears were popping. As they darted around, they nearly bumped into an approaching flight attendant, who came up to the nations.

"I hope you're both doing well," she murmured formally. "I just received a message from another nation inviting the both of you to an annual party." She held up a laptop with a small monitor to Mathias and Elizaveta, displaying the invitation. Elizaveta recognized this request too well. "The party is in two days. Would you like for me to accept or decline it?"

* * *

Mathias blinked at the computer screen, also recognizing the request. _Man, already? Just one thing after another, huh. . ._ He glanced at Elizaveta before nodding to the attendant. "Accept it, please..." No one ever declined the request, unless, of course, there was a good reason to do so. It was an annual event for all the nations to attend-a party, a ball even, for peace. It was more of an excuse for everyone to just have some fun and not have to think too much about their individual duties, but nonetheless, it was important. The Dane again looked to the Hungarian, and murmured quietly. "When did we get a secretary, again?"

* * *

The flight attendant, after receiving Mathias's feedback, turned to Elizaveta for her answer. She gave her the same reply after rereading the invitation once more, then the woman clicked away on the computer for a brief second and walked out of the passenger cabin. Elizaveta, again, had went out of focus as she began to think once more, watching the two children play without really knowing it, before snapping her head back at the Dane.

"Hm? Oh...well, I figured I needed one while flying. There was this one time when I was sent an urgent message on my cell phone, but I didn't receive it right away and it caused a big mess..." A guilty smile hesitantly appeared on her face as she remembered that chaotic event. "So I rely on a secretary to take care of these things. What, do you not have one yourself, oh-so-modernized Dánia?" She chuckled quietly, her demeanor temporarily turning dark until she felt something collide into her knees.

"Edinaaaa! Look, look! Those cars are even smaller than ants!" Miklós was apparently amused by how much their viewpoints changed the size of such things, seizing Elizaveta's hands to get her to join him and his sister in sightseeing. Kinia did the same thing to Mathias, pulling at his leg to try to get the tall man onto his feet. "Come on, come on!"

* * *

"Oh, well, that makes sense then." The Dane blinked, then raised an eyebrow at Elizaveta. "I don't like to depend on other people too much." He smirked, returning the Hun's expression, until his attention snapped to the children. Mathias chuckled quietly as the boy pulled the Hun along, then looked down at surprise as he felt a tug on his leg. Laughing, he got out of his seat, allowing Kinia to lead him to the window. "It's pretty great, isn't it?" Mathias sighed quietly, and soon his vision was blocked by clouds.

The remaining time of the flight, Mathias played with the children, showing them how to operate some of the various items in their compartment. As the two sat down to play a video game, he returned to Elizaveta's side, shaking his head. "Those two sure have a lot of energy." He looked up as a _ding_ was sounded, and the voice of the captain came on. "We will be landing in about fifteen minutes."

* * *

As time moved on, Miklós and Kinia managed to settle themselves down and were introduced to video gaming, devices that they never had the chance to touch or use unless they were in a large, expensive (for them at least) toy store. They were quite unfamiliar with the controls, but with practice, they caught on and were able to nearly match Mathias in skill - though the two had teamed up against Mathias.

Elizaveta sat aside, observing the three of them with amusement while snacking on small foods. She had decided to stay out as she had broken too many controllers as she became more competitive and started to become aggressive with how she handled those devices; it wasn't worth risking another one when Miklós and Kinia were entertaining themselves. She grinned when Mathias seemed to be exhausted by the children, and waited until the captain finished speaking to reply, laughing. "You don't say?" She ruffled his hair affectionately, purposely trying to irritate him, then shifted her gaze to the other two. "Alright, you heard the man! We're landing soon, so let's clean up so we can head out to the sea, okay?"

Miklós and Kinia, whose aspirations had escaped their minds throughout the plane trip, suddenly remembered about the ocean and hopped up to responsibly put away the gaming system. By the time they figured out how to disconnect the cords and stored the devices away, which only served as another learning process for them (was Elizaveta incredibly happy with that), the jet gently landed in not an airport but an empty clearing close to the seashore. When Miklós and Kinia exited the aircraft, their eyes came upon what they had described earlier - a vast, expansive, and seemingly limitless body of water.

"The sea!" they squealed. "It's really the sea!"

* * *

Mathias's eyes followed Elizaveta's hand and half-pouted, half-frowned, as his hair was ruffled. He shook his head a bit to get his hair to fall in its natural way. "Yes, I do say." He watched the children perk up and put the controllers of the game away, amused by their careful handling of the items. He sat back as they waited for the plane to land, watching outside the window as the blue of the sea came into focus. Once the attendant opened the door and released the stairs to allow them to exit the plane, Mathias allowed the children to run out first before following.

"Fantastic, isn't it?" He smiled at them as they stared with wonder, the excitement they felt quite obvious. "This would be the Adriatic sea. Go far enough," He pointed ahead, where a faded shadow of mountains could be seen. "And you'll be in Italy." He gave them a somewhat apologetic smile. "It was the closest one. Any further and we would spend more time than your mother would have liked." He sighed quietly, and inhaled the salty air. "But it's still the sea. A beautiful one, at that."

* * *

The small children immediately dashed off, as if they never heard Mathias in the first place; they didn't care what their mother thought, how far the ocean or some other sea was - the sea was the sea. To witness any one of the many out there in the world would _mean_ the world to them. The two nearly tumbled over their own feet as they whizzed down the staircase that had just been set up, then went running down a small slope and again almost tripped over while racing to the shoreline. When the line of white and blue was just another step away, Miklós and Kinia allowed themselves to fall over and collapse into the salt water, soaking themselves in not only water but also satisfaction.

Elizaveta dreadfully watched this entire run, calling out after the two with worry and even almost internally dying whenever she saw either of them nearly falling over. Her concern grew to the point where she began to tightly cling onto Mathias's sleeve, her nails creating perhaps unwanted wrinkles, and huddled closely to the Dane as if she needed comfort. Her wide-eyed, gaping expression on her face didn't change until a few seconds after Miklós and Kinia carelessly dove into the water, giggling as they splashed around. When the Hungarian nation felt that all was right, she sighed heavily.

"If either of them got hurt just now..." she started, though stopped before any unnecessary thoughts popped up and released her grip on Mathias's clothes. Elizaveta nodded to the crew on the plane with a smile, glancing back at the man beside her, and descended down the steps. _I might just pass out when we're done with these two today..._

* * *

Mathias reacted in an opposite way-he chuckled quietly as he saw the children run out to greet the sea. The happiness that emitted from them could be seen by anyone. The Dane suddenly felt Elizaveta's tight grip on him, and glanced down at her. _She looks so worried..._ His eyes went back to watch the siblings as they made it to the water's edge and splashed around. Feeling the Hungarian's grip eventually release, he shook his head.

"Eli, you worry too much. They may not look like it but those two are strong kids-strong in a way that even if they look like they could break, there's enough passion and confidence here," He poked his chest, where his heart hid behind. "Nothing can break them." He smirked. "You should know that best of all." Mathias took her hand and led her to the shore, closer to the kids. "So, enjoying yourselves?"

* * *

"I can't help it," Elizaveta mumbled, though didn't say much more as she felt that he wouldn't be convinced. She remembered when Feliciano was just about Miklós and Kinia's age - younger, perhaps! - and Feliciano was so excited about something that Elizaveta couldn't exactly touch upon, but he had definitely fallen over and bruised himself up. He was whining and complaining for the rest of the day, and his voice was so irritating that she simply could not forget that time. She didn't want to relive that experience, especially when there could have been _double_ the whining since there were two of them this time. _I should just be glad that didn't happen._ Elizaveta then noticed Mathias jabbing his chest with a finger and simply smiled, not surprised that he was taking this lightly, and followed him down to the shoreline.

"Yeah!" the other two cheered in response to the Dane, continuing to jump around in the water. They were in far enough to have as high as their knees submerged in the water, though their bodies were already completely drenched. As Miklós stood in one place and watched his feet get mysteriously and slowly eaten up by the sand with each passing wave, Kinia ran up to Mathias's leg and hugged it tightly, shuddering and squealing. "It's so cold!" She peered up at the Dane, though noticed his and Elizaveta's hands wrapped around each other. "Edina, are you and Frederik a mommy and daddy now too? My mommy and daddy hold hands all the time!"

* * *

Mathias couldn't help but grin as he saw the kids shivering. His attention was brought to Kinia as she latched onto his leg, her small arms hugging it as if for support. Her body was trembling, that he could clearly see. "No one said the sea would be warm." He laughed quietly. Being so used to holding the Hungarian's hand, he hadn't even thought about how it would appear to the children. Upon Kinia's question, he widened his eyes. _A 'mommy and daddy'? What a way to put it._

"No, no!" The Dane nervously laughed. Sure, they may have revealed their nation-status to the two, but to reveal the relationship they now shared? No, that was something the humans should not know about, for who knows how they would interpret it? _Humans think relationships between us mean some type of political statement..._ "Friends can hold hands too. As can siblings, as can anyone, really. You and Miklós hold hands sometimes, don't you?"

* * *

Elizaveta found herself staring incredulously at the little girl at Mathias's feet while a blush easily encroached her cheeks as they was terribly vulnerable to change in color; as her brain usually functioned, she took Kinia's words too far, her thoughts beginning to create situations that would probably never happen and were too good to be true. Instinctively (though it probably wouldn't help her in the end), Elizaveta released the Dane's hand and turned away to hide her shame, momentarily panicking.

_It's so obvious now, isn't it?_ She was more concerned with what Kinia said rather than how it affected her and Mathias as nations. Maybe she was lucky - maybe Miklós and Kinia were still too young and innocent to understand their relationship. Maybe they didn't know how to pick up the various interpretations that formed because of her flustering. Or maybe Elizaveta was just underestimating the intelligence of children.

She turned back around to the Hungarian girl, fanning her face with the same hand that was holding the Viking's before. As of now, Kinia didn't seem too convinced with the Scandinavian's words and mumbled a shy "yes" to Mathias and asked, "But we're just kids. Doesn't it mean something else for grown ups?" Luckily, Elizaveta had a possibly better explanation in mind.

"You surely know about how women and girls kiss the cheeks of men and boys when they meet each other, right?" Elizaveta inquired while chuckling nervously, apparently still stunned by Kinia's question from before. Kinia nodded without caution, then the nation continued, "In many other countries, people don't do that because they see that as something different. Because we're nations, we see it as something different - but remember, don't tell anyone, okay?"

Kinia stared at Elizaveta for a while, as if not picking up what she had said, which began to worry the Hungarian nation. But as the girl's eyes widened and her mouth parted slightly, Elizaveta could tell that she understood; Kinia even confirmed it with a nod. Seeming to suddenly lose interest, the child darted back to her brother, calling after the countries to follow her and wondering if Miklós found anything.

Elizaveta didn't respond to her; she still seemed to be mentally bleeding from the psychological shot, and was about to mutter something to Mathias about it until she realized how awkward it would be to converse about. Instead, her lips simply twitched as she crossed her arms, as if to keep Mathias from holding her hand again. _…Not like this silence was awkward to begin with._

* * *

Mathias stayed silent as Elizaveta tried to explain, feeling her hand slip out of his. _Ugh, another awkward situation..._ Out of the corner of his eye he had seen how flustered the Hun had become, her usually creamy cheeks discolored with a light shade of pink. He had found the question startling as well, but thankfully managed to keep his cool about it. Watching Kinia lose interest and run off, he stole another glance at Elizaveta.

"You're such a drama queen." He teased, then followed after the young girl as she called to them. The thing that had made the question so shocking was not hinting at a relationship-but the terms 'mommy' and 'daddy', which brought a whole new level to it. _Okay, yeah, that's not something I want to think about._ Shaking the thought out of his head, he stretched, and looked towards the sky. "We don't have too long-it'll be best if we head back before sundown."

* * *

After her face returned to its normal hue, Elizaveta turned to disapprovingly glare at Mathias, keeping her arms crossed as she mumbled through gritted teeth, "'Drama queen' my Hunnic ass, Viking." She pouted slightly, going back to monitoring the children in the water. Her suddenly tempered mood get swept away as she again watched them, their laughter in their struggle to pull out Miklós's feet from the sand as well as the whispers of the Adriatic Sea soothing her ears.

Elizaveta, switching back to her content self, this time gave the Danish nation a smile. "Well, shouldn't we make good use of the time we have left, then?" As if she had forgotten about what had happened just a moment ago, the Hungarian seized Mathias's hand and yanked him off so that they could join the two kids, then tried to slip the boy out from the ground. It had swallowed his legs to nearly his knees and, though Kinia had much trouble and started digging (too often were she and her brother attacked by the growing waves), Elizaveta almost effortlessly freed him in one single lift. However, at the same time, Kinia found herself thrown over by a powerful wave, squealing as she lost balance but again laughing for whatever reason.

* * *

Mathias felt himself being pulled towards the children, glancing down at his hand which was once again joined with the Hungarian's. _This woman, she can just forget about something like that, huh?_ He didn't mind though, of course, and happily followed her to the children. As she swept up the boy, the Dane chuckled at Kinia's failure to balance, and assisted her back onto her feet. After playing around in the sea-Mathias taught the others the game of trying to jump over each wave-the group rested on the sand. Mathias taught the two children how to make sand castles, and let them enjoy themselves for a while as he enjoyed the peacefulness of the area.

Time passed quickly, and soon the sun had met with the horizon. "Time to head back." The Viking murmured as they watched the sun slowly sink into the sea. He heard a disappointed sigh from the children, and flashed them a grin. "Oh, come on now. You've seen the sea now, right? And no one said this had to be the last time. You've got plenty of time ahead of you, and you'll be able to come to the sea whenever you like-as long as you work hard, got it?" The four climbed back into the waiting plane and made their way back to Elizaveta's land and the childrens' mother. _They look exhausted..._

* * *

Miklós and Kinia had been enjoying themselves far too much, every second they spent on the shores of the sea proving to be of much value to them - so much value that when Mathias called them back to the plane, they grunted and moaned in sadness as time seemed to fly along with the increasing ocean winds of sunset. But they were soon cheery and jocund again when reassured that this time wouldn't be their only time at the sea and slowly caught up to the countries to enjoy their last moments here.

Elizaveta heaved out a sigh and rubbed her arms, relying on friction to heat up her skin. She wasn't adapted to such cold weather, but at the same time she had given her jacket to Kinia as the child had begun sneezing earlier. Elizaveta, for the sake of Ilona, wouldn't even risk getting the mother's children sick. On the other hand, Miklós was apparently trying to impress the others by claiming that he was a man, and could stand any temperature and thus denied anything that served as a source for warmth while he was at the sea. The Hungarian nation eyed Mathias for a moment as she waited for the kids to board the plane, but when she didn't hear any steps clanging against the staircase, Elizaveta's motherly side took over and she couldn't help but to peek out the door. "Miklós? Kinia?"

"We're coming!" they shouted in unison from below, then scrambled up the stairs noisily. It took them no longer than about ten seconds to enter the jet and plop down onto the sofa. The two were exhausted indeed; the boy of the two sat closely to his sister, sitting in such a way that he could be taken over by his dreams and have his head gently pressed against his sister's. Kinia, too, was sitting in a similar position, with Elizaveta's jacket rolled up into a ball and pressed closely to her body. The Hun could see this clearly, and grinned slightly. "You two look ready to sleep," she chuckled. "Do you want some pillows and blankets?"

"Okay," each of them agreed, obviously lacking the energy they had when they were on the airplane earlier. Elizaveta then came up to one of the attendants to request for blankets, making sure to get one for the Dane as well. While she was occupied the kids chattered very quietly in Hungarian, then exchanged the balled jacket. Kinia looked back over to the Dane and seemed to remember something, then raised her voice and switched back to English, smiling. "Thank you for taking us to the sea, Frederik."

* * *

Mathias found himself nearly dozing off as he settled into the comfortable seat, but was able to keep himself awake. He chuckled quietly at the children, then watched Elizaveta wander off to get the pillow and blankets. He lost himself in his mind for a while, an array of thoughts flashing by. _I need to get back. The event is in two days. Everyone is going to be there. Do they know about Eli and I? I hope there isn't any drama there. All the nations will be there. What even happened last year...? _

"Hm?" The Dane snapped out of his thoughts and looked over to Kinia, blinking. A second later, her words registered, and he smiled. "Oh, it was no problem at all. I had quite a lot of fun myself-You two sure know how to have a good time!" Mathias shook his head, observing their tired little bodies. "But y'sure tired yourselves out, huh? Well, you have time to sleep, and then you get to tell mom about your adventure today, right?"

* * *

Kinia's eyes shone hopefully as she compiled together all of the stories she planned to pass onto her mother. She wished that every day could be like this, having fun at the beach - or she hoped that this day would last forever, so that she could stay by the seashore as long as she wanted to. But as a child, she never knew when she was tired, and little did she know that she was in that condition right now. For whatever reason, however, Kinia was fighting against sleep, trying to stay awake; Miklós was doing the same thing.

When Elizaveta returned, she spread out a blanket on each child's lap, also handing them pillows for extra comfort. For her own amusement, she tossed a blanket at Mathias's face while she tended to the kids. "You two can have an hour long nap while we head back," Elizaveta told them, grinning and glancing at the two. "We'll wake you up, alright?"

Again, Miklós and Kinia nodded. Though they were still struggling to stay awake and keep their eyes opened, they surrendered to their fatigue and quickly fell asleep a few seconds after the nation finished talking, their heads against one another. Elizaveta enjoyed this sight, which constantly reminded her of the Italian nations when they were still boys, and then sat down beside the Dane before sighing. "I feel too old to be caring for children anymore," she laughed gently, leaning her body against Mathias's. "You're not tired, are you?"

* * *

Mathias waited for Elizaveta to "tuck" the kids to bed, faintly smiling as he saw them fall asleep almost instantly. _They remind me so much of the others when they were little..._ He pulled a blanket around him and Elizaveta both after she sat down, allowing her to lean on him as his head rested lightly on hers. "No, not too tired." He laughed quietly. "And you're telling me. Days like this when I realize just how old I am." He sighed and shook his head.

The lights in the cabin had been dimmed, and barely a sound could be heard from the plane except for a quiet hum. The attendants had let them be, probably resting in their own personal cabin closer to the cockpit. Mathias felt his fingers entwine with the Hungarian's under the blanket, out of sight. It was strange, to have a moment like this, after a day of having to pretend that there was nothing between them other than friendship. "So, what's the plan when we get back?"

* * *

Elizaveta softly laughed along with Mathias, watching the other two snoozing away while her mind wandered. It had been far too long since her childhood, though, unlike many humans, she remembered everything clearly. Running around recklessly, getting into fights and wars, dealing with problems only adults had - they were dreams she had as a child. Now, she was trying to do the opposite, maintaining peace and acting responsibly as a nation should be. Even if it was much work, Elizaveta felt accomplished when she finished some political task. _I'm afraid I still miss the earlier years of life. _

Returning to reality, the Hungarian shifted her head slightly towards the Dane, viewing his face at a strange angle. Her hand found itself under the Viking's rather muscular one, and began to rub her fingers over his skin. "We're dropping off Miklós and Kinia to Ilona first, of course," Elizaveta murmured, lightly pressing her lips against Mathias's jawline as her eyes scanned the entire length of the cabin. But she had to ask that question to herself again. _...What are we doing after that?_ "We could prepare for the party. Maybe cook something that we could bring?" Elizaveta sure had some recipes in mind already for her own part - though she was curious to see more of the Scandinavian food culture.

* * *

"Well duh." Mathias teased, glancing at the sleeping children. "I wasn't expecting us to kidnap them or anything." He closed his eyes momentarily as he felt her lips against his skin, enjoying her touch. He sighed quietly, shifting as he looked out the window at the dark sky. "Cook something? I guess so. . ." He recalled previous years of the annual ball, and how there would be a long table piled with food from one end to the other-not just one table but several, all filled with a variety of dishes from all over the world. It was a ball to signify peace between the nations, after all, and what a better way to do so then share a bit of one's culture? "Though you realize how much that would be, right? Usually we just get chefs to do it..."

They quietly conversed for the remainder of the flight, and as time drew near, made sure to distance themselves some before one of the flight attendants peaked into their cabin. "We will be landing shortly." In a matter of minutes, the plane gently landed back at the airport they had departed earlier. Mathias slowly got up, and looked to the children. "Should we wake them, or carry them?"

* * *

Another soft laugh escaped from her throat. "I don't mind cooking that much. It's an annual event anyways. Besides, we have an entire day to prepare everything...unless you don't want to be cooking for many hours, you can go ahead and have your chefs cook while you sit on your lazy ass."

When the flight attendant warned them of their arrival, Elizaveta sat up and folded the blanket she and Mathias shared, and rose after a smooth landing. Her eyes settled upon the children passed out on the seats, and quickly sought for an answer. "We should carry them. I think they need the rest..." She reached out to pick up Miklós, but with a light touch on the arm he immediately jumped up, startled, and even yelped rather loudly, tightening his hold around the balled jacket while shouting and flinching in surprise. Elizaveta herself was startled by his sensitivity, her hand diving away from the boy, and stared at him to question wordlessly what was wrong.

"S-Sorry, Edina!" he stammered as Kinia grumbled and started rubbing her eyes, then glanced around. "Are we here?" It took Elizaveta a few extra seconds to respond with a nod, once again concerned for the boy - but she did her best to shrug it off, convincing herself that children were children and all sorts of things ran through their curious and young heads.

The small group eventually made their way back to where Elizaveta and their mother reunited earlier that day; Ilona at first appeared rather concerned for her children, though as Miklós and Kinia dashed up to their mother, she was very pleased to see their happy faces. Both of them began to blurt out random stories about their day at the Adriatic Sea, and it wasn't until Ilona's second hush that they decided to settle down.

"Thank you so much, Edina," Ilona said to the Hungarian nation, much joy evident in her voice. She turned to Mathias and acknowledged him with a nod. "And you, Frederik. Thank you for coming this far. Miklós, Kinia, say thank you and goodbye..." Her expression altered slightly. "Miklós, that jacket isn't yours, is it? Come on, return it to them."

Miklós seemed hesitant and only brought the jacket, still in the shape of a sphere, closer to his body. Elizaveta wondered why in the world the child was acting strangely, but wouldn't mind if he wanted to keep her jacket, for whatever reason it was. She was about to tell the mother so until she saw her jacket again, suddenly at a loss for words. Miklós asked his mother nervously, "_Anyu_, can we please keep this?"

It wasn't the jacket that he was referring to - he allowed the article of clothing to lose its round conformation and unravel, revealing a snow white dove sitting in his little hands.

* * *

_**A/N:**_

_Sorry for the late update! We've been wonderfully busy and it took us a while to get this point, but thank you so much to all of you that are continuing to keep up with us, and for all the favorites, alerts, and reviews! It really means a lot to us! _

_Just a normal or hopefully fun chapter; nothing really historical fun facts here, except that annual ball thing that Denmark and Hungary received invitations for. c:_

_We're setting things up for future chapters, yeah? ;D And soon it'll be the end! O:_

_You guys should already know this, but Hungary's incident with that toxic spill a few weeks ago...;A; We were so deeply concerned and, even if it was so strange of us to feel that way, we think we've gotten some kind of connection with Hungary in Hetalia that whatever news about Hungary in real life affects us too. I know that there are a few Hungarian readers out there...? we think...?_

_We hope you're all alright! ;_; -insert hearts here that fanfiction does not let us make-_

**_Amerzt: _**_ALSO__-if any of your are curious, after I got a request for this, I started a fanfic centering on our two OCs-Slovakia/Emil and Czechia/Milena. It pretty much covers their history and for those of you reading this, may give you a better understanding of why Elizaveta and Emil are towards each other as they are-because you haven't seen the end of them! That's right, both Emil and Milena will make another appearance soon and get things up and going before we close this up. If interested, just head to my account profile by adding ' ~tzerma' at the end of the usual URL and you'll see it-it's titled "The Heart of Europe"_

_Thanks to all of our readers once again! We'd love any feedback~ -insert more hearts here- c:  
_


	39. Chapter 38

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 38**

* * *

The Dane himself was startled when the boy jolted awake, though didn't let his mind ponder on it for long. They walked in the cool night air and made their way back to the mother. Mathias rocked back on his heels with his hands in his pockets, smiling as the two rushed to their mother, stories of the day spilling out of their mouths like overfilled fountains. It was fulfiling to see them so cheerful-a splash of color in what seemed their otherwise dull world.

"It's no problem, really." It took the Dane a second to respond to Ilona, having been lost in his thoughts. However he noticed the jacket balled up in Miklós's arms. Wondering why the boy was so attached to it, the Viking was about to nudge the Hun to let him keep it, but stopped after seeing the boy's timid expression. But then he wasn't expecting what happened next-a dove appearing from the jacket. Its fine white feathers were slightly ruffled up from the journey, and after gathering his sense, the Dane looked to the children. "You carried this back from the sea?"

* * *

Miklós confirmed Mathias's question with a nod, and inclined his arms toward his mother, holding up the rather clueless bird. "Please?" he pleaded, trying to win his mother's approval with a sad, childish face that could tear apart mothers' hearts - it surely pulled at Elizaveta's. But looking at Ilona's face, she seemed surprised yet appeared to disapprove of the animal her son had brought back. Elizaveta could tell that Ilona wouldn't allow this, no matter how many times he begged or how much Kinia tried to convince her too.

"No." Elizaveta wished she heard the opposite, though was glad that she didn't snap at the child. "I can barely afford us food to live, and taking care of a pet would be too much..."

"We'll take care of it!" Kinia insisted. "It won't fly away either! Look, one of its wings is broken..." Miklós fixed the jacket enough to see the dove's awkward-looking wing. "It needs to be taken care of!" Ilona did give a long, solemn stare at the bird, which was oblivious to her look as it examined its surroundings. But after a moment of silence, the Hungarian mother slowly shook her head, murmuring more quietly than before, "_Nem, gyermekek._"

Elizaveta hadn't felt this helpless in ages - her eyes were glued onto the children, unable to keep off a stare. She was so strangely crestfallen from this scene that she thought and spoke aloud at the same time, mumbling to the Dane words that a nation would probably never believe to hear coming out of her mouth, "If they start crying, I'm going to start crying too." The nation seemed more angry than sad though; her tone of voice was somewhat whiny, but at the same time, she had slightly hissed out her words. Her hand sought for another stress reliever again, grabbing at Mathias's arm once more - but all of these emotions died away when Miklós walked up to the two nations, raising his arms to the both of them. "Edina, Frederik, will you take care of the bird for us?"

* * *

Mathias quietly observed the scene, forcing himself not to frown as he felt he had literally seen the childrens' hearts break. He understood Ilona's view-but was surprised to see Elizaveta's strong reaction. He blinked at her, analyzing her tone of voice. _Damn she is emotional._ His gaze went back to the family, and he realized he couldn't blame her. He pondered that if this same exact scene happened with his people, would he feel the same? Probably not as strongly, but it would serve as a reminder that they were still so many people that needed help and life to them was a game of survival. He was about to comfort the female nation but was surprised by Miklós's action, his eyes once more looking upon the dove.

Its wing was obviously broken, hanging limply to the side. Mathias knelt down, carefully taking the dove along with the jacket from him, holding the bird gingerly. "Don't worry, kiddo. We'll make sure this little fella will be back in shape no time." He straightened back up, fully standing, and glanced over to the Hungarian nation. He felt the dove shift in his hands, and almost as if in a sign of thanks, it rustled and groomed at its feathers-shaking off two from it's broken wing. Perfectly good feathers, soft and glowing in the moonlight-perfumed with the scent of the sea. Mathias chuckled, looking on curiously and wondering. "Looks like she gave you a gift."

* * *

Miklós could feel a burst of happiness in his heart as Mathias slid the bird and jacket out of his palms, not exactly expecting him to take on the responsibility so willingly. Perhaps, the boy thought, it was the freedom that people eventually get as they become adults, and a nation surely had that at an early age. Though both Miklós and Kinia would have liked to keep the bird for their own, they figured that it would be better off with Elizaveta and Mathias. There wasn't a reason to not trust them.

Elizaveta smiled as she saw the Dane and the child interact, her mood uplifting as well. She, too, exchanged a look with Mathias before staring back at the dove, which happened to cock its head to the side as if to get a good look at the Hungarian. The Hun laughed, then nodded, adding, "That's right - we'll take good care of it. You two don't need to worry."

She then felt something bump into her legs again. It didn't startle her, but she tightened her body instinctively to keep her balance and looked down. Kinia had run up to her and embraced her legs, too short to give a proper hug to the Hungarian. Elizaveta saw that Miklós did the same thing to Mathias. Her heart seemed to soften, as if the warmth the child gave her caused it - however, the warmth was, to her disappointment, short-lived as both children retreated to their mother.

"Bye Edina! Bye Frederik!" Miklós called out, waving a hand high in the air. Kinia picked up the same motion and shouted, "Bye! Frederik, we'll meet again when we sail the seas!" Elizaveta saw that they both had a feather in their hands. Finally, Ilona gave the two nations her acknowledgment before turning away and returning home with her children, but Miklós and Kinia turned around to give the nations a last message: they pinched together their index finger and thumb and hovered it from one corner of their lips to the other, signifying that they promised to keep their identities a secret.

* * *

Mathias watched as the family departed, nodding his head once with a smile to indicate he understood their sign. He let out a small sigh, the night breeze sifting through his hair. His attention went to the dove in his hands, and after staring for a while, he looked to Elizaveta. "Best to have a professional look at this one." The Dane made his way with the Hungarian back towards her home, but on the way stopping at an animal shelter, which gladly accepted the dove and took it immediately to the veterinarian. _Who knows, maybe the kids will come across it again after it's healed..._ Letting the thought comfort him, he entwined his fingers with the Hungarian's as they walked in the night. "Vacation over. Get ready for a couple more long days."

It was a slight exaggeration-the next two days passed by quickly. Mathias helped Elizaveta with some cooking before heading back to his place, making his own arrangements and packing a new bag. After various errands and small preparations, Mathias found himself in Switzerland, where the annual ball was being held. Now, it wasn't just any type of get together, but one set up by the United Nations for "International Peace Day". It had become a vital event to attend, not for legal reasons but for social ones-to not attend gave a sign of hostility to the other nations. It was, inevitably, every nation's wish to get along with others, but differences still remain. But there was no harm in trying, right?

* * *

Elizaveta, as she said earlier, did spend the entire day before the ball preparing her country's foods singlehandedly until Mathias came and helped her. When he left to his home, she decided to let him go on his own, as she herself needed to get other things done or set up. It was exciting to think about in her opinion - a day for the European nations to gather and converse with each other was something Elizaveta would enjoy. She didn't have to talk about politics. She didn't have to discuss with another nation how to solve some trivial matter, or argue over something that would make her head hurt for the rest of the day. This special event was meant for doing something _fun_.

The Hungarian nation arrived rather late to ball, though no one made a fuss out of it; the other nations were preoccupied with chatting with one another anyways. She wore a dress not too simple but not too complex either, though it was definitely one of high class. Elizaveta didn't fear spilling stacked containers of _goulash_ onto her attire - she trusted her muscular arms to be able to carry them with ease. Some came up to her and offered help to help while one or two questioned if she cooked the foods on her own, but Elizaveta denied any services and independently set the containers down onto the table, which was already populated with foreign cuisine.

After heaving out a sigh, Elizaveta scanned the massive room for the Dane's head, believing that she would be able to spot his tall figure easily. But her eyes settled on Tino and Valdimar first, and decided that if she stuck with them, Mathias would come over eventually. They both were wearing a dark colored suit, outfits that were proper and formal in Elizaveta's eyes.

"Elizaveta!" Tino called out with a small smile, giving a hug to the Hungarian. Elizaveta returned gentle kisses on each of his cheeks, which surprised him but he didn't mind. Valdimar seemed to be more flustered when Elizaveta did the same thing to him as he had originally offered a simple handshake. "You two are looking fine," Elizaveta complimented, grinning. "Have either of you seen Mathias?"

* * *

Mathias, dressed in a formal black tux like most of the other men, had met up with his fellow Nordics earlier-all of them right on time at the official opening of the ball-and afterwards was wandering around talking with others. After all, he did have a reputation of being quite popular, and there were a lot of people to keep up to date with, though he kept an eye out for Elizaveta. He glanced at his watch a few times, getting a bit worried as minutes passed by and there was no sign of her. _Where is she? I hope she's okay... _

The ball was held in a large hall, more than enough for the over two hundred nations to roam, mingle, dance, debate, and what have you. The hall also branched into several smaller rooms, each holding a variety of items from paintings to food to new technologies that nations felt like showing off. It was a cultural event, and that too meant to be without controversy-it was a time to have _fun_, relax, and be with friends and possibly make new ones, or even establish better relationships with others. The Dane was currently conversing with Francis, talking about their latest architectural feats, when Mathias noticed Francis's gaze wander off before returning to him. "Well, looks like _ton chrie_ is here."

The Viking immediately looked over his shoulder, scanning the area, and sure enough saw Elizaveta, along with Tino and Valdimar. _I wonder if she just got here..._ He nodded to the Frenchman, acknowledging they would talk later, and made his way over to the other three. On the way he bumped into Eirik, the Norwegian, who simply waved him off as he was busy conversing with Matthew, the Canadian. The Dane happily obliged, more concerned with greeting the Hungarian, though frowned and rubbed the spot where Eirik jabbed him with his elbow to get him to go away. Mathias snuck up behind the Hun, wrapping his arms around her in a hug and putting his head on her shoulder: "Boo."

* * *

Tino was just about to tell the Hungarian he had saw the Dane earlier, though wasn't sure where he was now; but as he saw his tall figure make way to Elizaveta, he simply grinned, waiting for the scene to play as Valdimar watched with his usual, dull face.

Elizaveta squeaked when a pair of arms tightened around her body, freezing up in surprise. She was just about to ram a curled fist into Mathias's face, though was lucky enough to recognize his familiar warmth and instead put on a cheery expression, turning around to face him. "Oh! Mathias!" Again, she traditionally kissed the Viking's cheeks, but added a peck on the lips as to distinguish him among the others. It was difficult for her to hold down that reflex of hers - Roderich would never scare her like that, so he was safe, though it was _always_ Gilbert who would creep up and touch her and whatnot. Thus, she built up a defensive reflex in case the Prussian decided to do that, but for once, she needn't do that.

She found herself hugging Mathias affectionately, delighted to see him, then gave their bodies space as she examined him from head to toe. There didn't seem to be anything out of place. "You can't look any more handsome, can you?" she laughed, smirking. Beside the couple, Tino and Valdimar figured that they should leave the two alone, feeling that a small greeting was enough. The Finn raised a hand to Mathias to excuse himself and Valdimar, going off to engage in a conversation with the Baltics nearby.

* * *

Mathias grinned, returning the Hungarian's hug and peck. He had felt her tense up initially, and thanked her mentally for not lashing out at him. He looked to Tino and Valdimar, and nodded to them, seeing them walk off to converse with others. Upon her remark, the Dane's lips also formed a smirk, and he bent down to whisper in her ear: "Can't look anymore handsome? I guess you prefer me with clothes, then." His smirk widened. "Doesn't apply for me to you, though."

He laughed softly, indicating he was joking (well, not exactly), and straightened up slightly, looking her over again. "You look sexy, as always." He grinned again, stepping back once in case the Hun decided to attack."So you actually cooked enough food for everyone?" Mathias looked over to one of the tables piled with an assortment of dishes. He whistled, shaking his head. "You better hope no one decides to hog all of it up before others can get to it."

* * *

The mention of clothes was enough for Elizaveta to start imagining Mathias _without_ them - it was hard not to go that far, because she was so used to thinking in that perverted manner. To her disappointment, her daydreaming was short lasting, as she was hit with something she wouldn't necessarily consider a compliment. Elizaveta wasn't sure how to respond to the Dane, and instead pouted, leaving no words. She was glad that he decided to sidetrack from the original conversation and glanced over to the long line of tables as well.

"That's right," she confirmed, emitting a sense of accomplishment. "But I'm not sure if anyone would want to eat too much of _that_. It's _goulash_, and that has quite a bit of paprika in there." Elizaveta was smart enough to cook a little less of her own dish, as she was aware that most didn't enjoy spicy foods. _Only Antonio and a few others could slobber that up without a problem._

"Hey." A firm hand landed on Mathias's shoulder, squeezing it rather tightly. "You're not trying to take Roderich's girl, are you?" Elizaveta recognized the man who had suddenly appeared behind the Dane as the representative for the Dutch nation, Netherlands; she couldn't tell whether he was joking or whether he was serious, but either way, his stern face was rather intimidating (though, as a Hun, Elizaveta feared nothing). She sought for the right words, but all that came out in the end was a good laugh, leaving the newcomer confused.

* * *

"Right, of course. I'm sure the spicy-loving folk will definitely gobble it right up, though-your food doesn't compare to some of the others." Mathias teased, chuckling, and then nearly jumped when he felt the sudden weight on his shoulder, jerking his head to see who it was. A large grin popped up on his face as he saw Martinus, the Dutchman. He raised an eyebrow at him, and then glanced at Elizaveta as she burst into laughter before directing his attention back to the other male nation. "Hey, asshole, were you not paying attention at all during the EU meeting? Or were you too stoned?" He wriggled out of his grip and playfully punched his shoulder. "Watch it, will ya? You're gonna tear this thing up with a grip like that."

"As if he cares!" Bella's perky voice came from behind him, appearing while punching Martinus's arm. She greeted Elizaveta with a hug and the usual kisses on either cheek, and did the same to Mathias. Retreating back to the Hungarian's side, she put her hands on her hips, her strapless red dress fully showing her curves as it ruffled at the end around her feet. "Don't get too rowdy now-I'm sure Liz here would like something she can take home with her, if you know what I mean." The Belgian lightly nudged the Hun, giggling softly.

* * *

The Dutchman scoffed slightly and released Mathias from his grip, then frowned from the playful punches he received from him and his sister. He shook his head and mumbled as the pipe in his mouth twitched up and down, "Not that EU meetings are supposed to be dating locations in the first place. But you seem gayer than usual and Elizaveta isn't objecting, so it looks like you did steal her from Roderich. Congratulations." He tried not to appear too amused by his own mockery and his eyes shifted over to the Hungarian, who displayed a smile after calming down. He didn't notice that Elizaveta was trying to fight off more dirty thoughts. "Better watch out for Mathias. He likes to play tricks, like he did in the FIFA World Cup earlier this year."

"Did he?" Elizaveta questioned, smirking and giving Bella a glance after snapping out of her daze. "I'm not surprised. I've been there and done that - I'll take him down if I need to." Martinus wasn't stunned by her masculinity - he was expecting it, after all he had seen with her and Gilbert. Then an idea popped into the Hungarian's mind. "Would you two like to eat with us?"

* * *

Mathias laughed, also oblivious to the Hungarian's daze. "_Tricks?_ I wasn't the one going around kicking everyone, bastard." He shook his head. "Besides, you ended up losing in the end, after all of that." He knew he could get a punch just for saying that, but laughed anyway. Bella rolled her eyes and scoffed lightly, dismissing her brother: "Not like you're one to talk, Martinus-you and Mathias seem to pull pranks all the time. Besides those three," She jerked her head to the side, indicating the direction that Gilbert, Francis, and Antonio were in. "You two are the biggest troublemakers we have."

"Don't say you don't enjoy our pranks." Mathias snickered, bumping fists with the Dutchman. He perked up at Elizaveta's suggestion, and nodded to the other two. "Yeah-can do some catching up. After all that's been going on, it's nice to just settle down for once, huh?" He grinned. Bella happily nodded, though turned to face Elizaveta. "I'd love to. But I hope you're not planning to stick together all night." She grinned mischievously. "We need some girl time, love. Just as I'm sure the boys want their time to talk about what they usually do."

* * *

Martinus scoffed once again, this time into his pipe. He wasn't willing to admit defeat though didn't want to speak against it either, and simply bumped fists back with the fellow Dane and listened to the two converse before agreeing, "Sure." He slipped the pipe out of his mouth, setting it between his fingers. "Though we won't be settling down any time soon with all those yellow cards you got, Mathias."

Elizaveta was laughing for most of the time, but again her brain decided to wander elsewhere every now and then. She shook her head, as if to disapprove of the two men bickering, though was trying to get it to herself. The Hun walked up to the two and slapped their sturdy bodies on the back. "Alright, enough with the football jokes! You'll both be brawling before you know it." She huffed, though smiled, and then turned to Bella. "And there will be plenty of time for us to have our girl talk. Come on, little football monsters, it's time to eat." Elizaveta, not bothering to wait if there was going to be any reaction from either men, walked over to the table of food, grabbing a plate and taking small portions of certain dishes.

* * *

Mathias was going to open his mouth to fire a retort back at Martinus, but was shushed as Elizaveta stopped the two from any further bickering over the past games. Bella shook her head, following after the Hungarian, picking sample of a variety of dishes. Mathias purposely shoved himself in front of the Dutchman, grabbing a plate before them and flashing him a grin. After taking their food, they headed to one of the many tables set up around the hall. On the way, the four caught the attention of Alfred, the American, and he came dashing over.

"Heeyyy~!" He grinned, his usual confident aura surrounding him. "How've you guys been?" He blinked, looking between the Dane and Hungarian. "Someone told me you were together now, is that true? 'Cause if it is, I'd never have thought it!" Alfred laughed heartily, and patted Mathias's arm. "Wayyy to go, bro! Scorin' it high with the ladies, huh?" Bella rolled her eyes at him, though giggled at the Dane's expression, who had raised an eyebrow, slightly frowning. "Hello to you too, Alfred."

* * *

The Dutchman was just about to follow the women, though felt a push that kept his body from doing as it willed. He stiffened a frown again, standing still and silently sneering at Mathias, before slipping in the end of his pipe between his lips and patiently catching up with the other three. He soon found himself debating over which foods to eat, purposely ignoring Alfred as Martinus didn't want to interact with such a hyperactive nation unless he had to. Elizaveta, on the meanwhile, was a part of the topic on hand and had to speak out.

"Hello, Alfred," she greeted with a friendly tone that was a little forced, grinning. "I've been fine. You seem to be your usual self...and you could say we're together." She glanced at Mathias, apparently searching for approval to whether or not she should disclose this information. _Information spreads fast...but I'm glad that none of the nations seem to be looking at us in a negative light._ "I'm assuming all is well in the western hemisphere?"

* * *

Alfred's grin only widened. "Ohhh, so the rumors are true! Well, good for you!" He patted Mathias on the back, but with such force (he never did know his own strength) that the Dane nearly choked on what he just swallowed. After a small fit of coughing, which was accompanied with Alfred's cheery laughter, Mathias cleared his throat. "Thanks...I guess." _I swear this guy..._

"Oh, things have been alright...the economy is still in a slump." A melancholy smile replaced the American's grin from before. "Things are still rough, what with the war still going on, which reminds me..." Alfred gulped, his eyes scanning around. "I-I better get going-lots of people to meet, so little time! You all enjoy yourselves!" With that, Alfred dashed off, leaving the other four nations in confusion. Bella shook her head, lightly scoffing, and sat down at an empty round table, one which included six seats in total. Mathias waited for Elizaveta to sit before sitting down himself, and quietly murmured: "It's nice to be like this."

* * *

Elizaveta smiled again, but this time used more effort to put it on her face. It soon curled down into a worried frown as Alfred slapped Mathias on the back; the Hun perhaps even glared at the American, though was happy that he had other things to do and wandered elsewhere. "He still has much to learn," she sighed while gently patting the Dane's back before walking over to an empty table. Martinus trailed behind his sister, thoroughly amused by the recent scene, and had to replace his laughter and display of satisfaction with a cough instead, a hand sitting on his mouth. He knew that the Dane would be out to get him if he found out that the Dutchman was snickering at his misery. Martinus sat beside Bella, with Elizaveta on the other side.

"It is," the Hungarian agreed with the Viking, nodding as she took an experimental bite from her food. She hummed, approving of the taste. "The food here is great as it always is every year." She turned to look at the siblings, not so intimidated by Martinus's height as she was well adapted to Mathias's. "Any gossip to share with us?"

"Nothing new for me, as far as I know," Martinus answered, holding up a piece of his own food with a fork to his face. "But you two have a lot to tell me about yourselves. I seriously didn't think that Mathias would get into a relationship with anyone or any_thing_." He remained cool as he made fun of Mathias again, then shot a look at Bella. "You didn't tell me anything about this either."

* * *

Bella let out a hearty laughter and shook her head. She smirked at Martinus, eyebrow raised questioningly. "What, am I your secretary or something?" She leaned closer to her brother, pulling at his cheek, her voice taking on a childish tone. "Or is wittle Martinus upset that he's last to learn of his best friend's latest venture?" Her smirk turned into a grin, and she let go of the Dutchman's cheek while turning her attention to the couple at the table.

"D'awww, how cute." The Dane laughed, adding more to the Belgium's teasing. Then he shook his head and shot him a smirk. "Yeah, you would think that-I'm not the one looking up little girls' skirts, now am I?" He knew he would get hurt for that later. Bella scoffed and shook her head, getting back on the original topic as she finished off half of her plate, enjoying the unique tastes.

"Not much gossip on my side, besides the usual...but yes, you two have got to tell us what's been going on. I already know the start of the story," She waved her hand dismissively. "But I'm sure _he's_ just dying to know." She pouted, teasing her brother once again. "Martinus doesn't like being out of the loop!" Mathias chuckled again, grinning at his male counterpart.

As he took more bites of his food, he summarized what had sparked the relation between them, much like Elizaveta had done for Bella earlier-leaving out the more personal details, of course. He couldn't bring himself to keep a deadlock gaze with the Dutchman and ended up glancing around every now and then.  
"And there you have it." The Viking finished off, right as he cleaned off his plate. _If that bastard says something..._

* * *

"Shut up," Martinus growled, gently slapping away the Belgian's hand from his face. The last thing he wanted was to be treated like a child, and Bella certainly wasn't helping. He was just about to give out when Mathias further pushed the limits, though remembered to keep calm as the purpose of the ball would be destroyed. He vented to himself instead. _Football loser's going to be buried beneath the football field for football players to trample on while they play football._

He paid close attention to Mathias and set aside his anger, crossing his arms and absorbing the story as he slowly ate. Elizaveta listened to the Dane while eating as well, making sure he didn't say anything false (not that she doubted he would). However, she found herself smiling shyly at times, turning her face away before anyone witnessed her flustered expression. It was nice having a significant other, but to explain how it happened was embarrassing to hear. _Not to mention Bella probably wants another update from me!_

Her eyes followed a number of passing nations or countries that sat at other tables, slowly entering a daze, but sat up as Mathias finished off his summary, snapping back into attention. Everyone in their party seemed to be just about finished with their dinner. Martinus appeared to be in deep thought. Elizaveta suspected that he lost interest in the Viking's long ramble, but instead, Martinus replied, "Glad to know you haven't been going up a pig's ass."

* * *

Bella had finished off her plate as Mathias recounted the past few weeks, also gazing around the room, taking note of who she needed to talk with, though kept an ear to the conversation to see if she could detect any differences between Elizaveta's and Mathias's stories. She didn't find much-well, besides that Mathias was more straightforward with what happened. She smiled when he finished, but sharply turned her head to look at her brother. _He just can't help himself. . ._

"Oh, I don't know, fucking pigs isn't too bad, actually." Mathias had been waiting for his friend to say something, and as he suspected, it wasn't a direct compliment. "But you would know all about that, wouldn't you? How are the piglets doing, by the way?" He snickered, then deciding to mess with the other two, Mathias innocently added on. "I just hope you still consider our night the _best_ one." He winked at the Dutchman. Bella, who had been sipping down some water, nearly spit it out, instead resulting to coughs. Mathias blinked at her, then looked to Martinus again. "Oh-should I have kept that secret?"

* * *

Elizaveta laughed, considering Martinus's words a compliment. _He approves of us too - definitely._ She expected Mathias to stammer a reply, but was surprised by the confidence she found in his voice and was even more stunned with what he said. In fact, she was blushing now more than she was just a moment ago - not enough to take over her entire face, however - and was sent back to her own pleasing little world. Martinus was too shocked (and perhaps outraged at the same time) to notice Elizaveta's reaction, though looked out the corner of his eyes to glance at his sister as he caught her spatting out her beverage.

"Go fuck yourself, Mathias," Martinus scowled, emitting an aura too dangerous for the current, festive atmosphere, "and get your own manbabies if you really want one." Luckily, the Dutch made Elizaveta rattle herself out of her dreamland, then she immediately (and harshly) smacked Mathias upside the head. Half jokingly though mostly out of rage, Elizaveta snapped, "_Mathias!_ Go get fucking laid by a _real_ pig, will you?"

* * *

Mathias was about to snap a reply back at the Dutch nation when he felt Elizaveta smack him. He immediately raised a hand to his head, rubbing it as he felt a pang of pain. "_Ow._" He shot the Hungarian a glare, but soon he was grinning again, leaning back in his chair. "Get laid by a real pig? What, are you into bestiality, too?" He jerked his head in Martinus's direction. "I could rope him in for a threesome, if you want."

Bella burst out into laughter at this point, wiping a tear from her eye. "You guys are too much, I swear!" She shook her head. "But please, I don't want to think of what my brother does when his pants aren't on. I've seen enough to last a nation's lifetime!" She got up from her seat, smirking at her brother, and clasped onto Elizaveta's arm, pulling her up. "Come on now-we female nations have things to catch up on! You can come back to your boy-toy later."

* * *

Elizaveta felt a force pulling her out of her chair, nearly wanting to resist but ended up letting Bella drag her away. She took her empty plates with her, then shot Mathias a glare as if to tell him, _Behave._ Her glare soon softened into a smile, showing that she wasn't truly tempered by his words, before going off with her good friend and leaving the two men at the table. "We should just act the same way as they do - or at least, as Mathias does," she suggested, chuckling. "I've yet to have my revenge on him and the Nordics for the other day..." Elizaveta clearly remembered the day she was tricked by the four brothers and found herself hanging in a tree, the memories flashing and running through her mind.

The Dutchman watched the girls excuse themselves from the table, then fisted Mathias's head to add onto the pain Elizaveta gave him. "Serves you right," he muttered, returning the small end of his pipe back into his mouth. He stood up and tossed away his plate, but remained unseated to examine the bustling ball room, filled by nations he well recognized and others he hardly knew. Martinus was tempted to ruin his sister's alone time with the Hun, though decided to leave her be. Instead, he urged the Dane, "Hey, fatass, get up so we can go talk to other nations."

* * *

Bella laughed heartily, glancing back to make sure her brother hadn't decided to take advantage of their absence to beat the Dane senseless. "Oh, we have our own fun. Which you're going to be subject to know, you realize that?" She grinned mischieviously at the Hun. "Oh-I remember you telling me about that! You still haven't gotten them back?" She shook her head. "No worries. If you're going to get Mathias back for that,better to make it really good than to rush it." The Belgian led Elizaveta into one of the rooms attached to the hall. Inside was an indoor garden, complete with fountain and skylights that let the moon and stars shine through. She quickly led the Hungarian to a table, shoving her onto a seat and plopping down next to her, grinning at the several other female nations. "Guess who finally showed up?"

In the meantime, Mathias held his head in his hands, rubbing it as he was hit once again. "_Goddammit._ Take a joke, will ya?" He managed to shake off the pain, however, being used to such attacks and got up, stretching. "You have such a way with words. Really, I'm surprised you don't have everyone falling at your feet." The Dane chuckled and puts his hands in his pockets, also looking around as he took in the scene. "Wanting to talk to someone in particular?"

* * *

"W-Wait, _subject_?" Elizaveta repeated, rather shocked. _No, we're not really going there, are we?_ She wasn't all too happy either that Bella seemed to disregard her earlier statement and decided to talk about how to return the prank, but eventually nodded, seeing no reason to not agree. "Right..."

As they passed through the doors into another room - _indoor garden,_ the Hungarian corrected herself - Elizaveta took a good look around, absorbing the pleasing sights of the plants and flowers. Gardening was much to her interest; the flower in her hair could say enough about that. But her admiration of the area was disconnected when Elizaveta felt her weight fall down upon a seat. She glanced around, clueless, until her eyes recognized a number of other female nations, all of whom she knew, sitting at the same table with her. A concerned frown came upon her face.

"Mathias, huh?" Those words were of unique accent, though obviously belonged to the tongue of the perky Seychellois girl. Her lively demeanor and expression were enough to show her interest in Elizaveta and her new relationship. "I never thought you'd leave _Cher Monsieur_ Edelstein for him! Tell us everything!"

Martinus released a light scoff, keeping his eyes on the crowd as he answered, "Not anyone in particular. I'm thinking it's better to interact with other countries rather than isolating ourselves. It's a party." He shifted his eyes to the Dane. "You should know that the best." His powerful legs strode him across the ballroom, wandering around until he bumped into someone quite a bit shorter than him.

"Hey, wad'ya fuck d'ya sink ya doin'?" The Dutchman had to back away a step before the beer shot out from its mug, though luckily it didn't. Martinus glared at the apparent drunkard as the newcomer failed to fix his posture (and manners). "I've gotta world ta conquer, outta mah way!"

"You're not doing that here, Gilbert," Martinus answered with certainty, one of his fists lightly bumping into the palm of his other hand. _No surprise to see that he brought beer..._ However, the Prussian easily disregarded him and slid over to Mathias. "So, broski, didja get togetuh vif 'Lizaveta? _Hah!_"

* * *

Bella giggled and shook her head. "That's right Liz-pretty much everyone knows. You know how fast gossip travels." The Belgium winked at the Hungarian, then turned her attention back to the small group of female nations. "Everything you've heard is true-Liz here snagged her self a certain Dane." Around the table there was a burst of light laughter and squeals, adding more to Elizaveta's embarrassment.

"Yes, yes, we know that. But I think we'd like to here it from _her_." The cheery voice of Mei, the Taiwanese girl, spoke up. She smirked at the Hungarian, leaning forward with elbows on the table, and with her chin resting atop her interlaced fingers. "So Lizzy, you've got to tell us _all_ about it. I was honestly surprised when I first heard!"

Mathias chuckled again and walked along with the Dutchman, looking around and mentally identifying each nation he saw. However, the loud and rather irksome voice of the Prussian brought his attention back to Martinus, and before he could speak a word he found the Prussian already leering at him. "Drunk already? No wonder you fail when it comes to parties." The Dane snickered, though shook his head and stepped away from Gilbert, towards Martinus. "And what's it to you? Yeah, I'm with her. Got a problem with it?"

* * *

_Everything?_ Elizaveta stared at the Taiwanese girl before her, then looked among everyone else. Their faces didn't hide a single bit of their eagerness to know all about her and Mathias. _I'm not telling them_ everything. _Though, I could say this is much better than them opposing the two of us together..._ The Hungarian hesitantly began, then became more comfortable as she spoke on from the time since she spotted to the Dane, to their travels between her home country and Denmark, and everywhere else. Of course, there were details intentionally left out, though one female nation had the guts to ask this one question:

"So...how is he in bed?"

It caused Elizaveta to fluster madly, her face as rich in color as a cherry, and trying to cover her embarrassment served futile. Not a word could come out of her mouth. The group of nations burst into laughter and the Seychellois insisted, "We're kidding, _mon dieu_!" Elizaveta even tried to sneak out of her chair and out of the room, though Lien, the Vietnamese nation, along with another country urged her to stay. "Buuut, you surely do seem like you're in love!" the African Island nation continued. "You're really spilling out your heart!"

Gilbert's sober expression turned into one of astonishment. "Wuh-" He gave Mathias the typical I-don't-believe-this stare for a few seconds, then vigorously shook his head. It was apparent to Martinus that the Prussian was trying to jest around at first, and didn't expect it to be true. "Oh. Vell den." The albino mumbled to himself, then raised his voice slightly, "Hah, like _I_ should care. Dat jus means more Roddy fur me, _keshesheshesheshe_!"

Gilbert elbowed Mathias, though it seemed as if he tripped over himself for being drunk and bumped into him by accident. "'Ey, why aren't ya drinking? Vill ya two relax? Vhere's Arthur?" As he chugged down his beer, Martinus gave Mathias a raised eyebrow and crossed his arms. _I have nothing to do with this fool._

* * *

Bella and Mei laughed heartily along with the other present female nations and Elizaveta's sudden embarrassment. _The only time I've seen her this red before,_ the Belgian thought, _was when she was getting really turned on by that one gay couple..._ She shook her head slightly, though gave the Hungarian a mischievous grin. "Oh, she's fallen for him alright. I swear everytime I see or talk to her now it's something about him!" She elbowed Elizaveta lightly to show she was kidding.

Mei grinned, glancing at Lien and then the Seychellois girl. "Mmhm. But hey, if you turn so red at a question, I guess the answer must be that he is definitly quite a catch." She winked at the Hun, and thus ensued another burst of laughter around the table. "Liz, you're so eager to talk about other peoples' sex lives, but when it comes to your own, you shut right up." Bella giggled, shaking her head. "Up for some wine?"

Mathias rolled his eyes, recounting the days that Gilbert had stumbled into his home when Elizaveta had decided to visit. "Yes, have fun with Roddy boy all you'd like. I'm sure he'll be _thrilled_." The Dane eyed the beer in the Prussian's hand, but upon the look he received from Martinus, he shook his head. _I don't really feel like hanging with him and Arthur today. . ._ The Dane glanced around, then pointed off in one direction. "There's Arthur. Why don't you go grab him and sit down for a drink?" He was pointing to a random location on the other side of the hall, but in the drunken state Gilbert was in, Mathias knew the Prussian would believe the Englishman was in that direction anyway.

* * *

Elizaveta's mind had been hit hard by the personal question she had been asked and couldn't absorb the conversation among her friends. It was too embarrassing - and rather sudden to ask, in her opinion. _T-There wasn't any need to ask that in the first place..._ She wriggled in her seat, shuffling her hands in her dress as she squirmed uncomfortably; the Hungarian was so preoccupied with herself that hadn't heard the wine offer the first time around, and snapped her head up to Lien when she inquired, "Elizaveta? Do you want some wine?" She already filled the other nations' cups with the beverage, and the wine bottle in her hands was ready to pour some for the Hun. However, Elizaveta felt the need to get out of there.

"I...need to go to the restroom," Elizaveta mumbled, quickly rising from her seat and wrapping her arms around her torso. It wasn't true, but she would find any excuse to escape (and it was a plus that she was good in acting). "I don't feel so well." She briefly glanced among the girls - they seemed pretty convinced for the most part, though made her way out of the room before they could yank her back down. The African girl frowned slightly, feeling somewhat guilty. "I hope we didn't do that..."

As Elizaveta exited the room, she peeked through the crack of the door before shutting it, making sure no one had followed her. She reexamined her surroundings, though didn't detect any change in the festive atmosphere since she went into the garden. She easily spotted Mathias and Martinus, who weren't too far away from their dining table, and readily approached them until she stopped and noticed Gilbert with them.

"That idiot better not be doing anything stupid."

While Elizaveta continued coming up to them, Gilbert was considering Mathias's suggestion, rubbing a finger along his jaw in thought. "Nahhh, it'sh not da same without ya, Matt! Maybe I'll go'n bother-" He turned around to look for someone, but not without meeting his eyes with Elizaveta's. Her glare petrified him at first, though he relaxed immediately and played it cool.

"So, Mrs. Denmark, how are ya today?"

That set her off; Elizaveta jerked a hand into the air to slap him in the face, but Gilbert frolicked away in laughter as he was able to predict her reaction and run off in time. The Hun forced herself to calm down, remembering the purpose of this event, then turned to Mathias and Martinus, grinning shyly. The Dutchman was watching them silently, displaying no reaction to what had just happened, but set a firm hand on the Viking's shoulder, murmuring, "I'll leave you two alone. See you around." Elizaveta frowned slightly as Martinus walked away, though gave Mathias a bigger grin than before, expecting him to say something.

* * *

Bella frowned as Elizaveta got up and dashed off, shaking her head. With a sigh, she leaned back in her seat, swishing the wine in the cup before. "She can get so touchy sometimes, I swear." She glanced at the other female nations. "She'll open up eventually, give it time." She looked particularly at the Seychellios girl. "Don't feel bad! Now, I don't know about _you_ girls, but I myself would like some beer!"

Mathias rolled his eyes slightly, a bit irritated that his time with Martinus was being interrupted with the Prussian. He perked up, however, when he saw something had caught Gilbert's attention-and turned to see Elizaveta. Before he could say a word, she already had managed to drive Gilbert off. _, huh?_ He suppressed a smirk and nodded to the Dutchman, figuring he'd catch up with him later. Looking back to the Hungarian, he chuckled quietly. "What, done with your girl talk already?" He displayed a large smirk, baring his teeth. "Or did you just miss me that much?"

* * *

Elizaveta scoffed. "Yeah, I'm done. Bella and the other girls wanted to know _everything_ about us. I absolutely refuse to do that," she mumbled with a pout, looking out the corner of her eyes as if to glare at the door of the room she was previously in. She then grinned and pushed herself onto the tips of her toes, a hand making way to Mathias's face to stretch his cheek. "No one misses you." The teasing made her laugh to herself before Elizaveta twirled around and began walking away with a smile. _He's definitely going to whine about that._

However, the Hungarian's happiness died away as her eyes came upon Emil, the Slovak, who was sitting at a table alone. He appeared to be in deep thought, his arms crossed, and his purple eyes emitting a mood as serious as ever. _Where's Milena?_ she wondered, though she had an idea in mind - it was a day for nations to talk amongst each other in peace, and maybe, just maybe, talking to Emil in a conciliatory manner could improve their relations. She still had that sense of hostility in her, but it wouldn't hurt to try talking to him as if she were his friend. _Emil would probably tell me to back off, so I shouldn't..._ Elizaveta shook her head. _No, I should do this. I'm sick of these fights we have all the time._

"I'll be right back," she told the Dane before walking to Emil's table, hoping that he wouldn't get curious as to what she was doing. The Slovak noticed her approaching him, pretending not to notice at first, but eventually he gave her his attention with a tense look. Not a word was spoken by him. Elizaveta wasn't surprised - she didn't mind being the one to start a conversation. "Hello, Emil." Her voice wasn't too gentle or too formal. Emil narrowed his eyes slightly, frowning, but responded with reluctance, "Hi."

* * *

_**A/N:**_

_Sorry for the very late update! We've been kept busy with school and whatnot, but we haven't given up on this...thanks to our readers who haven't given up on us!**  
**_

_**xneyu:** I've read that the Danes are very punctual, while Hungarians arrive late to appointments and such because they expect you to be late too. I find that very funny. It just makes Denmark and Hungary so much cuter together. 3_  
_I must say, Netherlands is too fun to RP, especially when Denmark's in there too. They're total broskis and I can imagine them just shooting all sorts of verbal insults at each other non-stop. xD We hint so much Ned/Den, but it's just too hilarious to pass._

_And yes, as you can see, we watched the FIFA World Cup this year. You'll only get the jokes if you know what they're talking about or watched the games. XD_  
_Be prepared for some upcoming drama. . ._


	40. Chapter 39

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 39**

Mathias raised an eyebrow as the Hungarian responded. _Everything, huh? So that means..._ His thought was interrupted as he felt a pull on his cheek, and immediately frowned at her remark. "Oh, funny." He rubbed his cheek after she let go, and was about to fire back a comment when the Hun decided to excuse herself. The Dane watched her, perking up as he saw her go in Emil's direction. _What is she doing. . .?_ Deciding Elizaveta had a reason, he restrained himself from following her, instead watching from a distance. Feeling awkward just standing there, he grabbed a drink from the passing waiter.

"You not conversing with others? That's not right." The Dane nearly jumped as he heard the deep voice of Ludwig behind him, and turned to grin at his southern neighbor. "Oh, nothing wrong with some peace and quiet." The German rolled his eyes at the Dane's lame attempt of a pun, and soon the Dane found himself in a chat with him, though kept some attention to the Hungarian and Slovak.

Milena, on the other hand, had gone to get a couple of drinks, and on her return to her table had been caught by one of the other nations into a conversation. Laughing at a recent joke, her eyes flitted to the table, where upon her laughter died as she saw Elizaveta. _What is she saying to Emil. . .?_

* * *

Elizaveta, oblivious to the Czech's and Dane's eyes, knew that the Slovak was trying his best not to provoke something. However, his tone of voice was still harsh, and watching Milena from afar hardly seemed to mollify his hostility. Behind her closed lips, Elizaveta clenched her teeth, disliking his failure to at least sound welcoming, but decided to continue attempting to make a harmless conversation. "You seem to be enjoying yourself in peace." The Hungarian was cautious with her words, knowing that Emil could be set off if she acted any different than normal. "You should still talk to other nations..."

"I've already done that. I'm just taking a break." If anything, Elizaveta was the one getting tempered - Emil _still_ seemed annoyed, especially because she was sitting at the same table he was. That was the last thing she wanted. _Unwilling to talk._ Silently, the Hun inhaled, then steadily exhaled. _Don't take it in the wrong direction... _"Emil, as much as you hate me for...everything I do...can't you at least try to have some peaceful talk for one day? Or, more preferably, the rest of our lives?"

He only glowered back at her, wishing that Milena would excuse him from the table at that very moment.

* * *

Mathias watched on wearily, soon left again to himself as Ludwig was called by another group of nations, who seemed to be deeply involved in a conversation on cars. Before he could think of what to do next, however, Feliks had made his way toward him. "Soooo Mathias, I hope you've been treating Elizaveta well, because if you like, did anything to my best friend, you would be in for a lot of pain."

The Pole pounded a fist into the palm of his other hand, then grinned and chuckled at Mathias's somewhat startled expression. The Viking managed to return a grin, and shook his head. "Don't worry, Feliks, you can trust me. . ." He got distracted as his eyes wandered back to Elizaveta and Emil. Feliks followed his gaze, and stiffened upon the site he saw. _Like...what?_

Milena had also spotted Mathias and, not too much to her liking, Feliks along with him. She clearly read the message Emil was giving her with his eyes, and excused herself from the other nations she had been conversing with earlier and casually returned to the table, setting down a glass of beer in front of the Slovak before slowly sitting down next to him. The Czech managed to force a small smile, and acknowledged the Hungarian. "Hello, Elizaveta."

* * *

Elizaveta only looked at Milena as a greeting, her expression unchanging. It was hard to even force a smile with her growing frustration with Emil, who was making this more difficult for himself. _If he's not willing to cooperate, this hate is never going to end._ She was waiting for an answer from the Slovak - but she saw him immediately stand up the moment the Czech sat down, taking the beer with him, and was about to leave the table without a word. Emil decided to excuse himself rather than rely on Milena, Elizaveta noticed, but she quickly shot out of her own seat to stop him.

"_Emil._ I'm just asking-"

"Don't even _try_," he snapped lowly, his eyes presenting the same emotion as it did during the EU meeting. "What's the point of making up when all we think of whenever we see each other is our past and the hate that comes along with it?" He gave Milena a look, as if to tell her to follow him; however, Elizaveta continued to cut back in, trying to keep her voice low as she murmured gravely, "We will never achieve peace if you don't try to reconcile. Instead of dwelling on the past, we should be finding solutions to fix this for the good of the _future_."

* * *

The smile on Milena's face immediately disappeared when she realized Elizaveta was not going to return the gesture, and instead slightly narrowed her eyes before veering her gaze to Emil. The Czech could not get a word in as the Hungarian confronted the Slovak. She waited for Elizaveta to finish her statement before calmly standing up, glancing between the other two nations before her sharp seagreen eyes landed on the Hun. "As much as it is desired, Elizaveta, it isn't exactly the easiest thing to do on our side."

Mathias's eyes had widened when he saw the nations at the table rise, and overhearing their conversation forgot all about the Polish nation and made his way to them. He restrained himself from putting a hand on the Hun, instead crossing his arms as he gave Emil an unamused look. "Listen, I don't mean to butt in, but the past is _the past_, Emil. We've all done and gone through terrible things, but we've been able to get over it and look towards having better relations in the future. What's the point of keeping so much hate locked in you? Nothing is going to get solved that way."

* * *

Elizaveta's eyes widened as Mathias came up beside her. Though she was glad that he was on her side, she didn't want him to get involved. _But at this point, it's already too late._ The Nordics jumped in during that one dinner, too - they've _been_ involved. Without moving her head, Elizaveta looked around the room, particularly for Mathias's brothers. To their luck, no one seemed to detect the drama they were having. However, she noticed that Tino and Valdimar had uneasy expressions on their faces as they watched from a good distance away.

Emil sneered, slightly baring his teeth. "Apparently, you haven't done your research," he scowled. His voice then became more dominant, powerful. "Like Milena said, it's not easy to let go of the past after what _she_ did. Hundreds of years under her rule, a near death experience - do you think that's something to put off like it's nothing, to forgive with ease?"

"You've already gotten your vengeance, Emil." Elizaveta leered at the Slovak. "You almost killed me as well, and just recently, you shot me twice. I'm not complaining because I deserved that. We're equal now. Isn't that enough?"

* * *

"I have done my research." Mathias calmly replied, narrowing his eyes. "In the end Elizaveta even fessed up to me herself. I know it's not an easy thing to do, Emil, but it's the only way to make things better." The Dane also could feel Tino's and Valdimar's gaze on them, and was sure that Eirik and Berwald were probably paying attention too, if they had noticed. _This is the last place to start drama, but. . ._

Milena scoffed, her frustration also starting to rise. "Equal? Nearly killed _you_?" Her eyes narrowed as she struggled to keep her voice calm, though in the end it had a bitter edge. "Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration? Yeah, maybe by directly attacking you, he did, but it doesn't even amount to the way you've hurt not only him but the both of us through what has happened to our land and people." Her arm wrapped around the Slovak's, as if to anchor him in case he lashed out. "It wasn't like you stopped after we were free from yours and Roderich's rule, either." Milena's voice dropped to a strained whisper. "Less than thirty years, that's how long we've been free, actually free. That isn't much time, in the life of a nation."

* * *

Elizaveta wildly shook her head, her rage becoming unmanageable and her voice raising a notch in dynamic. "Forget that! It's _over_. You both have freedom now and I have no interest in taking it away from either of you." Her nails scratched the table beneath her hands as she curled them into fists. "We're here at this event for a reason, so can we at least fulfill its purpose?"

She and Emil seemed to have a long lasting duel, a glaring contest; neither of them seemed to be intimidated by each other's faces, but the tension ended when the Slovak twitched an eye, _tsk_ed and walked away, taking along Milena and leaving without a word. Elizaveta's eyes were locked onto the couple for a while before she heaved a sigh, then looked around once again. She noticed that Tino and Valdimar had witnessed the entire scene - the Finn's small smile directed to her confirmed that. "I don't know if I should try anymore," Elizaveta murmured to Mathias, a headache now pestering her. She forced a smile as she looked up at the Scandinavian. "By the way, thank you...but...Mathias, you're getting too far into this. It's not worth it."

* * *

Milena narrowed her eyes even more as she looked at the Hungarian, holding back the words that danced on her tongue as the tension between the Slovak and Hungarian rose, and soon found herself pulled away along with Emil. Mathias watched the couple depart the scene, sighing quietly, then turned his attention to Elizaveta. He shook his head, giving her a smile. "Don't worry about it-I know you all share a pretty deep history, but I have a right to voice an opinion." The Dane glanced around, glad that the only people who seemed to have noticed the scene were his fellow Nordics and of course, Feliks, though the Pole had retreated to bother Toris.

Eirik had made his way over to the two and raised an eyebrow questioningly at Mathias before looking to Elizaveta and greeting her with a nod of his head. "I'm glad nothing broke out between you two-though the anger was evident." He glanced down at the Hun's hands. He then gave Mathias a disapproving look. "I don't see why you try and get involved-you'll just make everything worse, like usual." As always, his voice was devoid of emotion, as were his eyes as he shook his head at the Dane, who simply frowned from his friend's usual teasing.

* * *

Elizaveta pouted, glaring at the Dane high above her. Giving an opinion was one thing, but getting involved was another. She was just about to retort to Mathias until she saw Eirik, and her face suddenly brightened. It made her even happier that the Norwegian was thinking the same thing she was, and when he finished talking, Elizaveta called out "Eirik!" before freely coming up to him and pecking both sides of his cheeks as well. His stoic expression didn't scare her at all - in fact, she presumed that he wouldn't like her form of greeting, though did it anyways. Not knowing him too well compared to the other Nordics wasn't going to stop her either. Though Eirik was hardly around her when she was with Mathias, he probably knew of their relationship for a while now too, most definitely through his brothers. "It's good to see you."

Then the Hun quickly turned back to the taller Viking. "See? It's not just me who's saying that. You're known to do stupid things too, right?" Elizaveta stole a glance at Emil, making sure that he wasn't too close by that he would be able to eavesdrop. He was quite a distance away, getting himself a drink. "You could learn from your brothers, you stubborn old man."

"You might have to physically stop him if you don't want him to do something," Valdimar added, coming up beside his biological brother. If anything, the Icelander and Norwegian had identical faces and could be mistaken for one another someday. "Even if the four of us restrain him, it can be very difficult." It was clear that he could recall the turbulent Northern European past, but refused to bring up the topic directly.

* * *

Eirik stiffened from the Hungarian's greeting, not used to such personal contact, but did not react otherwise. "Hello, Elizaveta. It's a pleasure to see you as well. I hope he hasn't been giving you too much trouble." The Norwegian glanced at the Dane. "And stupid is simply what he is." Mathias huffed and crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow at the Hun.

"Stubborn old man? I'd rather be that than a foolish young maiden." He flashed her a smirk before shaking his head at Valdimar's comment. "Okay, okay, I get it. You all hate me. Let's leave it at that, shall we?" Mathias chuckled to show that he was joking, though Berwald was quick to take the fun from that as he also approached.

"'Bout time. We've been tryin' t'get that 'nto yer head f'years." The Swede's expression was serious and intimidating, as always. Mathias shot him a glare and scoffed, waving off his comment. "Yeah, yeah, Waldy, no need for some dramatic speech, alright? Now, don't let me keep you busy, I'm sure you have other people to screw around with."

* * *

As the other Northern European countries joined them, Elizaveta turned around to face each of them; she had already greeted Valdimar, and figured that it would be awkward to try and reach Berwald's height to give him her traditional greeting. She noticed one thing amongst the three newcomers, then frowned. "Alright, stop it, Mathias, or else you're going to ask for even more from your brothers. Why these faces, anyways?" She cautiously approached Valdimar, who perked up and flinched as she gently pulled on a cheek. "Can't you guys be any happier? For a ball like this, you should at least try to be."

"We're just fine," Tino laughed softly, appearing beside the Swede after chatting with the Estonian nearby. "Don't worry." It was difficult for the Hungarian to believe - only the Finn seemed to not be gloomy. Irritation seemed to be growing in the Dane. But when she thought about it again, there really was no sense of depression among the Nordics. They were just themselves. Elizaveta was interrupted from her train of thought when Tino continued, "You're a lot more like Mathias now, Elizaveta."

Her pout-like frown made bolder creases on her face. "Really now? I don't think I should be compared to this fake knight in shining armor," she replied with sarcasm, smirking back at Mathias. Before giving him a look, Elizaveta caught a glimpse of the Slovak walking towards her group. Worry struck her. _Please don't come here to bring up more drama._

* * *

Berwald glanced at the Finn, allowing him to respond while he himself kept silent. Eirik raised an eyebrow as Elizaveta pulled on his younger brother's cheek, one of the few instances his facial expression reflected amusement. His lips twitched into a slight smirk as the Hungarian addressed the Dane. Mathias huffed again, rolling his eyes at the Hun. "Well, _excuse_ me, princess. No need to get edgy."

"I believe Tino meant your demeanor," Eirik replied to Elizaveta, ignoring Mathias's comment. "Usually Mathias is the only one bugging everyone else to be happier, even if we're perfectly fine." He shook his head. "If I remember correctly, you weren't the happiest nation in the neighborhood yourself. So, dare I say it-don't take being compared to Mathias as an insult...at least in this case." The Norwegian dismissed the grin that had appeared on the Dane's face. "Aw shucks, Eirik, that was unusually kind of you." Mathias chuckled, though felt Elizaveta perk up beside him, and also noticed the Slovak. _Huh..._

* * *

Elizaveta jabbed Mathias in the stomach, then listened to Eirik and simply smiled. She would have said something, but as Emil came closer and closer, she became more frantic about what was going to happen. He was no doubt wanting something from the Hungarian. _But after that, what could he possibly...?_ She didn't dare make eye contact with the Slovak until after Tino and Valdimar realized his close presence and stiffened slightly as she noticed several filled wine cup in his hands. Elizaveta was terribly confused and stunned.

"Hey," Emil greeted to the Hun, rather awkwardly. "I thought about what you said, and I figured you were right. We shouldn't be arguing about this anymore...the entire chessboard will get wiped out, but how are the players supposed to play without any pieces?" Elizaveta widened her eyes, more astonished than before. _He's...finally settling it?_ His usual chess speak was often used to disagree or oppose her in some way, but this time, it was different. He continued, "How about it? No more fights. King, I owe you one too." Of the three glass cups in his hand, he gave out one to both Elizaveta and Mathias.

Elizaveta slowly accepted the cup, though her eyes were still showing utter disbelief. Never did she imagine that the day would come when Emil would finally relinquish his past to end their bad relations. He gently pressured her for a confirmation, questioning, "Well?"

"O-Oh...um...yes, of course," Elizaveta mumbled, still experiencing a daze. From there, Emil raised his own wine cup as if to signify not just a toast but peace as well, then silently left the group. Tino appeared to be lost, while Valdimar continued observing Emil as he walked away. "Well, I...suppose that turned about a lot better than I thought," the Finn murmured.

* * *

Mathias winced from the blow the Hun gave him, rubbing his stomach area and shooting her a glare, but returned his attention to the Slovak, widening his eyes as he spoke. _Wait. . .he's actually trying to make peace?_ Berwald and Eirik also looked on, their expressions not giving away anything, though both were equally surprised. Mathias slowly took the cup from Emil's hand, nodding. "Thanks. . ." He displayed a grin, though closely watched both the Slovak and Elizaveta. In the corner of his eye, he noticed Milena, who stayed away from the group. He couldn't read any emotion on her face, and found his attention snap back to the Slovak as he waited for the Hungarian's response.

"That's an understatement. . ." The Dane mumbled after Emil left. Eirik, however, was watching the departing nation, just as his brother was. His eyes narrowed slightly in suspicion, but soon looked back to the group. "He's a good guy, from what I know him. Maybe he just realized fighting was no use, finally." Despite his words, the Norwegian didn't sound too convinced that Emil could have just suddenly changed his mind, Mathias shook his head and raised the glass to Elizaveta's as a toast. "Well, shit happens, and in this case, it doesn't always have to be negative."

* * *

Valdimar, like his brother, had suspicion lingering in his mind. However, he had to set that aside as he refocused on the Dane. Elizaveta would have liked to backfire Mathias's words, but, as usual, kept to herself as arguments and wars weren't wanted at this time. _And maybe never again._ She returned a small smile to Mathias before gently clinking together their cups, then immediately began to engulf the beverage. It was alcoholic - and strong, too - but that was no big deal. She loved wine and beer and whatnot. Enjoying the fruity taste and refreshing her throat after so much talking, Elizaveta managed to finish the cup in a matter of seconds, though in a mannerly way. Tino seemed impressed.

"Wow, Eli!" he lauded, grinning. "You're a good drinker. We should have a competition someday." The Hun cocked an eyebrow, thoroughly amused.

"I didn't think you would be the type to drink, Tino," she replied, chuckling as she licked her lips with just the tip of her tongue. "I wouldn't be surprised if you got that from Mathias. In fact, I'm up for one any day." Her masculine side never let her down.

* * *

Mathias raised an eyebrow in amusement as he watched the Hun consume the drink at such a speed, and shook his head slightly. He swayed his own cup slightly, his tongue desiring the taste of beer more than wine. He laughed after Tino and Elizaveta's conversation and displayed a wide grin as he looked at the Hungarian. "Oh, Tino drinks alright. In fact, he's my drinking partner!"

Eirik rolled his eyes, but slightly nodded. "Yes...Mathias and Tino are actually the biggest drinkers of our group. Yet somehow the drunk brawls always happen between the idiot and Berwald. . ." The Norwegian sighed while the Swede showed little reaction, the corner of his lip slightly twitching into a half-smile. Mathias chuckled again, mumbling "can't be helped" and looked around the area. _I still feel weird about what just happened. . ._

* * *

Tino chuckled heartily, looking up at the Swede. "Haha, Eirik's right. It's always you two fighting each other, and in the end, I'm always the one winning the competitions," he added. Valdimar wordlessly agreed with a small nod. He had his own record - memorized, too - of nearly every stupid thing Mathias did, after all.

Elizaveta smiled, though was distracted by the taste of the wine. It had a horrid aftertaste, but it was familiar at the same time. _It could be because this wine is different from mine and I'm not used to the taste. Although..._ She ran a hand through her hair, but found her fingers rubbing at her scalp as her head felt heavier than usual. Everything seemed to go downhill from the moment she noticed her headache - Elizaveta grew nauseated and her stomach was churning. And, for some strange reason, the memories of her as a young girl and Roderich flew through her mind. Her lips tightened against each other in agitation before the Hungarian turned away from the group of boys. Before Elizaveta could find her own voice to excuse herself, Tino caught her condition first.

"Elizaveta, are you okay?"

Her mouth opened to reply, but her eyes happened to gaze upon the Slovak, who was leaning against the long table of diverse, exquisite foods with an ominous smirk that stretched across his face. To her, he seemed digustingly satisfied with himself. But her brain clicked as she realized what he had done: he had given her a drink with a mix of concentrated alcohol and traubisoda. Her past was returning to her, and it appeared that that was what Emil wanted to happen.

Not some way to resolve their issues. Not some truce. Not peace.

"Liar," she hissed, then roared, "_Liar!_" Before she knew it, she found herself pinning down Emil onto the table behind him. Both of their eyes were intense and heated with anger and hate; the Slovak, ironically welcoming this violence, remained on the furniture and raised his voice, almost as if he was happy to see this. "Oh, so you decided that you weren't going to accept my words? I thought that you'd never agree with me!"

* * *

Mathias slightly rolled his eyes and shook his head at his brothers' teasing, even though it was true. However, he perked up when Tino picked up on Elizaveta's state, and looked to her in worry. His worry increased when she didn't reply, and his eyes darted into the same direction that she was looking. _Emil. . ._ Before another thought could process through his mind, he found himself watching the Hun pin the Slovak to the table. _Shit! Did he do something to the drink? Why is she suddenly. . . _

"Eli, don't. . ." His voice was low, but loud enough for her to hear. He sat his cup down, and found the Hungarian's wine cup on the floor, which she must have dropped in the process of lunging at Emil. He slowly picked it up, narrowing his eyes, but one look from Eirik told him not to taste it. The Norwegian quietly sighed, shaking his head and mumbling a "I knew it". The Swede also stood alert, his eyes examining the scene. Several nations had scrambled to their feet as gasps were heard throughout the room.

Milena had been standing nearby, and her eyes widened as she saw her partner pinned down to the table. She immediately approached the two nations, staring directly at Elizaveta. "Get your hands off of him. Is this really the way to be acting at an event like this?" Her voice was bitter, her own disdain for the other female nation becoming apparent. "Everyone is looking, Elizaveta. Don't do something stupid."

* * *

Despite Mathias's comforting voice and calls of warning, her sense of judgment couldn't get to the better of her; her mind was whirling and all that she wanted to do was kill the Slovak - kill Emil, who truly didn't deserve this cruel consequence for, in simple terms, giving her a drink of alcoholic traubisoda. Her eyes were narrow from scrunching her face and bearing her gritted teeth, but it looked more or less like squinting as if she was struggling to see clearly. As she kept Emil locked onto the table while trying to recover her senses, Elizaveta picked up more voices among the crowd, Roderich's being the one that particularly stuck out to her. It seemed to trigger something in her brain - how, she didn't know - and the next thing the Hungarian knew was that she was limping and curling up pathetically against the dinner table.

Emil took advantage of her current situation and pushed himself back onto his feet with the help of his elbows. He glanced at Elizaveta, flashed Milena a grin, then gazed over to the Nordics. For the most part, he seemed to be receiving glares from all of them, while other countries were either confused or sympathetic for him. "Is that what traubisoda does?" he questioned the brothers in such a manner that it was obvious he knew of its effects. The Slovak slipped his hands into his pockets, then murmured lowly, his purple eyes glowing with power and emotion, "What a handy piece for chess."

Emil remained silent for another few seconds, using that time to observe Mathias and his untouched cup of wine. He was disappointed, but that surely wasn't showing. "By the way, King, I've always been wanting to see your Viking side."

Tino and Valdimar instantly shot him stunned looks. Elizaveta herself managed to find the energy to grumble threateningly, "No, don't you dare get him into this."

* * *

Mathias had to restrain himself for running to Elizaveta's side, knowing that it would be best for him to keep his distance. He watched Emil carefully, reading his expression. _Damn. . ._ The Dane narrowed his eyes as the Slovak addressed him, his fingers tightening on the stem of the wine glass. He slowly set it to the side, not daring to touch it from his last traumatic experience with the strange liquid. "Maybe you'll see it one day." Mathias replied lowly, then gave a small smile. "But sorry, wine isn't really my thing."

Milena sighed quietly, then glanced once at the Hungarian before approaching Emil and placing a hand on his shoulder, whispering in his ear. "Enough. The damage has been done," She glanced again at Elizaveta. "It'll take a while for her to get over it." The Czech looked to the Nordics, who still seemed to display a mix of surprise and disdain. Her cool gaze met with Mathias, and her eyes narrowed slightly, her expression reflecting her thoughts: _You asked for it._ The other nations exchanged confused glances, most still unsure as to what was going on-a usual sight at the chaotic meetings.

* * *

"No," the Slovak replied to Milena with a low voice, glancing at her. "The game's not over yet." He displayed a smug expression to the Dane again, also noticing Tino and Valdimar ready to jump in for Mathias - and Elizaveta - if they needed to. A chuckle escaped from his throat. "Right, you're the beer type of person, aren't you? You can always drink traubisoda with that, then. Or even better..." Emil shifted his body one step to the side, revealing a large bowl of the unique drink. "...drink it alone."

Before he knew it, Emil received a sharp, powerful force tackling him at his side. He stumbled at first, though barely managed to catch himself with a hand on the table, leaving him partially on the floor. At the same time, his hand was resisting another hand that was trying to dive at his throat - Elizaveta's hand. The Hungarian had lunged at him.

"I _told_ you not to get him involved!" she snapped, releasing her inner demon. "You never do as I say, ever since you were a child! You are to obey every order I give you. _Do you understand?_"

"Oh, of course I do!" Emil answered with a rising voice and immense sarcasm. His arm was rattling as it met the same amount of power as Hun's. "Surely, your rule over me will do me good and wouldn't kill me!" His eyes then darted to gaze at Mathias. "This is the monster that you decided to dedicate yourself to, King! However, your queen loves to abuse her power, now doesn't she?"

* * *

Milena frowned disapprovingly at Emil, but could do nothing to stop him. Mathias, on the other hand, was growing increasingly frustrated with the Slovak as he stared at the bowl of traubisoda. He didn't want to even touch the drink again after his last encounter with it, and he by no means was going to satisfy the other nation. However, before he could retort, he found himself witnessing Elizaveta's out-of-control state. His eyes widened, even more so after the words she spoke. Berwald and Eirik stiffened, exchanging glances, and more gasps were heard in the room.

"Elizaveta," The Dane spoke her full name. "Leave him." He felt that his outreach would be futile, and looked to Emil, his gaze turning cold. "She's only being like this now because you've brought back memories! We've all had bloody pasts!" Mathias didn't like where this was going at all-the room had grown silent as the others watched the scene play out. They were used to Elizaveta and Emil's conflicts, but never had something like this happened before.

"Get _away_ from him!" Milena managed to grab a hold of the Hun and shove her off to the side, releasing Emil. She looked at her in disgust, her voice low as she continued to speak: "It may bring back memories, but it proves that those feelings and intentions haven't disappeared." The Czech glanced at Emil, looking at him sternly, and mouthed a 'stop' to him. Of course, it was too late now-the night had been spoiled.

* * *

Mathias's unusually serious voice began to have an effect on her. She was just about to release the Slovak to prevent herself from creating violence, but her aroused condition worsened as Milena yanked her off of Emil. She caught herself using the dining table, pulling the tablecloth down with her, then with a burst of anger knocked over the bowl of traubisoda. It danced in circles along the table before tipping over the ledge, then dumped the beverage onto Emil, who was in the middle of considering Milena's message. He cursed in his native tongue as he felt his eyes sizzle while traubisoda escaped down his throat before he could spit or choke it out. For the other nations watching and those who knew what was going on, they knew that Emil accidentally swallowing traubisoda meant trouble. _They'll be facing each other in a historic battle,_ Valdimar, who was standing safely next to Eirik, thought.

It was true. What the witnessing nations said proved to be unhelpful in the long run.

"_Bitch!_" Emil yowled, scrambling to his feet and glaring at the Hun as he moved Milena out of the way with a strong arm. His irises were burning purple and his body was panting for air in between his words. "You're just angry because you couldn't make me and my people completely Hungarian, aren't you?"

Tino's serious side was kicking up again. "Elizaveta, Emil-"

"_No!_" Elizaveta furiously snapped back. The Finn was nearly convinced that she was responding to him, but was actually denying the Slovak. He decided to back away, though internally he hated this argument with a passion. "You have no idea what I've been through!"

"You have no idea what _you_ made _me_ go through!"

* * *

Mathias's eyes widened as he saw Elizaveta knock over the bowl. For a split second everything slowed down, and the next thing he knew he was watching a spattering Hungarian and a sputtering Slovak in a heated battle. _This can't be good. . ._ He glanced around, seeing that most nations had come closer to the scene, witnessing the event with wide-eyes and worried looks. Not one of them came out to try and stop them, knowing that the anger and bitterness between the two nations had a long, long history.

Milena had let out a squeak when pushed aside, nearly stumbling backward in the process. She eyed the now empty bowl of traubisoda and the rich carpet soaked in the juice that hadn't entered Emil's body. Knowing very well of its effects, she stood close behind the Slovak, ready to restrain him if necessary. She could feel other eyes focused on her, other nations probably expecting her to step in and stop the two from any further fighting. But as seen by the reaction to Tino's attempt, it was worthless, and all they could do was watch it play out.

"Mathias," The Dane nearly jumped as he heard the voice behind him. He turned slightly to see Bella, her eyes full of worry. "What exactly does that drink stuff do? I thought it was just some kind of soda." Mathias grimaced, and shook his head, once again focusing on the two and speaking in a hushed tone: "It is, for the most part. . .but something about it makes you feel nostalgic, brings back memories from the past. It seems like it works wonders on nations, though. . ."

* * *

"What, would you rather have been Germanized instead?"

"As long as you're not in it, I would have more than gladly been!"

The argument continued running with much tension in the air. Martinus soon joined his sister, coming up beside the Dane while watching the Central Europeans battle it out; his eyes narrowed as he looked at Mathias from the corner of his eyes. "I'm guessing you've drunk that before," he began, "but shouldn't you be stopping Elizaveta?" Nearby, Tino managed to hear him and agreed with him in his thoughts, thinking that he should jump in despite the Hungarian's insistence, but knew that Mathias would most likely be hesitant to do so for more than one reason. Elizaveta didn't want to include them in the fight _and_ he and the rest of the Nordics would rather promote peace than violence. There wasn't much they could do after all.

Soon, the clamor between Elizaveta and Emil was climbing to its peak. Emil was perhaps going insane and Elizaveta was getting out of hand as well, her voice at a volume that was usually used around Gilbert. Her good judgment was washing away too. "If you're going to continue to be this cruel to me as if you want me to die, I'll be just as cruel and we'll see who dies first-" She found several forks lying on the dining table and snatched them with a hand, levering her arm back to throw the utensils at the Slovak - but then someone grabbed her wrist, preventing her from chucking the forks at Emil which could have possibly started a true war.

"Elizaveta, you must calm down. You mustn't allow the drink to affect you like this and need to remember the peace you were trying to achieve before." Those words belonged to Roderich. He was fully aware of the conflict and the immense history behind it, and believed that he could stop them. Luckily, Elizaveta fell silent and was now recovering from her tempered state; Emil, too, kept his mouth shut after the Austrian had given him a look, destroying the previously hostile atmosphere.

* * *

Mathias perked up when Martinus, too, joined his side. He grimaced, nodding hesitantly."I have had some before. . .I didn't know its effects. It wasn't a pleasant experience..." He looked back to the arguing nations. "Which is why I'm not trying to stop them. . .once you have that stuff in your system, everything else besides your memories fades out. Those two are reliving their pasts, which I'm sure are nothing short of nightmares."

The Dane shook his head slowly, narrowing his eyes as he concentrated on the hectic scene, in case he did have to step in. Eirik and Berwald glanced at Mathias before also returning their attention to the Central European nations. _I wonder,_ Eirik thought, _what he remembered? If these two are practically going through a historical battle. . ._ The Norwegian frowned at the thought, not wanting to think longer on the subject of what could possibly erupt if the Nordics were to relive their pasts.

Milena kept silent, staying behind Emil, left in a similar predicament to Mathias's-only that she _did_ have a connection and a place in Elizaveta's and Emil's history. Her gaze became cold and unwavering as she herself was reminded of the past as the two fired statements and insults at each other. Yet the moment Elizaveta went for the forks, the Czech widened her eyes and reached out to the Slovak. To her relief, Roderich managed to hold the Hun back from making a dangerous move, and though Milena held some disdain towards the Austrian, thanked him silently in her head.

Mathias looked at Roderich with some surprise, but narrowed his eyes at him. It was only natural for the Austrian to step in, who too had a place in their history. The only danger the Dane saw was that he might incite even more memories, even though the two feuding nations had fallen silent. _Well. . ._

* * *

Elizaveta was frozen and mute for some while, long enough for her to get her brain up and running normally again. What just happened began to sink in her mind - and she started to regret what she had done. Even if the traubisoda was to blame, the Hungarian felt like accusing herself for yet another mess. _I've ruined everyone's day._ She let her neighbors down, her friends, the Nordics, Mathias - and most importantly, herself. She had tried so hard throughout the event to keep calm, constantly reminding herself over and over to remember the purpose of the ball, and now she had failed.

When Roderich believed that Elizaveta had eased up, he gently released her wrist, though kept his watch on the forks. To his relief, the Hun lowered her arm as she continued pondering, then eventually sank to the floor. And, to many nation's surprise, including the Slovak's, tears slithered down her face.

"Can't we just get along?" she asked Emil, her voice vulnerable and breaking apart. "I've fought...again and again...to make peace with you, Emil. Again and again, you refused." She paused, gripping tightly onto the forks turning warm in her hand. Her lips quivered slightly. "I understand it's difficult to release your past because of what I've done. A sorry isn't enough, but I'm sorry, Emil. The least I can do is ask if we can find a way to solve our problems, whether or not it takes another hundreds of years. Haven't you seen that I've endlessly sought for better relations? Haven't you seen that the only thing standing in the way is your lack of cooperation?"

For once, the Slovak had no words to fight back with. He hadn't seen Elizaveta like this before, and in other situations her femininity probably would have made him mad. But it left him thinking. As another silence seized the room, the Austrian stepped back from the Hungarian and motioned to Mathias with a hand to take care of Elizaveta, now finding himself to be the wrong person to be soothing her. Tino and Valdimar saw this message and expectantly looked at their older brother, waiting to see what he would do.

* * *

The room was dead silent apart from the Hun's voice-many nations had never seen Elizaveta in such a state before. The silence was like a heavy blanket, the festive and bright mood of the night long-since robbed by the event that had just taken place. Mathias's eyes had widened the moment the Hungarian slipped to the floor, hesitant to move. His eyes darted to Emil, trying to read his reaction, and was surprised to find an equally stunned and silent expression on the Slovak's face.

The Dane looked back to Elizaveta, and upon seeing the Austrian back away and signal to him, he immediately approached her, kneeling on the floor and putting a hand on both of her shoulders, gently hushing her. Berwald and Eirik watched him, then glanced around the room-most nations were frozen in place, waiting to see what would happen. The effects of the traubisoda were fading, no doubt. For some nations, seeing the two argue came as a surprise, but those who were used to the two's conflicts were just as equally taken aback.

"I think," Startled expressions turned to view Ludwig, the German, who took a few steps forward, joining the side of Roderich. "...this is a good opportunity for several of us." He glanced at Mathias and Elizaveta, then looked to Milena and Emil. Some nations had backed up slightly, leaving a large space where the six participating nations were. Milena had flinched upon hearing the German's voice, grabbing onto Emil's arm as she stood closer to him. Ludwig, too, had a strong connection and place in their history.

"We've been building walls of rivalry and resentment towards each other, all built from the bricks of our past. As Elizaveta said, a sorry is not enough, not for what we've put you through." He glanced at Roderich. "And a lot of what has happened was very recent, in a nation's time. But seeing as this is an event dedicated to peace. . .isn't it time we worked towards it? I don't think it's impossible. . .it will just need a lot of work, and time." Another silence. Milena found herself staring at the Austrian, German, and Hungarian. She slowly turned to look at her partner, her blue-gray eyes questioning.

"Of course it's possible." Mathias's turn to speak, his voice strong as he glanced between the others. "One look at my family and you can see that." Berwald and Eirik stiffened, feeling the others' gazes on them. "Our past has been bloody. We've fought wars with each other-eleven with that guy, to be exact." He pointed to the Swede, whose lip twitched at the acknowledgement. "We've been through hell and back. And look at us today-would you have ever guessed?"

* * *

The Dane's close warmth and soft hushes relaxed her mind and body, as if Mathias's presence worked wonders for Elizaveta's nerved condition. She turned to look at Mathias with an eyesight blurred by tears, then closed her eyes to strengthen the effects of his voice and enjoy his gentle touches on her shoulders, her own hands caressing his arms. Enough time passed for her to stop herself from getting too emotional, and soon Elizaveta was giving Ludwig her attention. She was surprised by his step into the scene, but at the same time she couldn't expect any less from him. He was blamed for war after war, and regaining his reputation was something he had to do for himself and his people. But his words did not just apply for the country of Germany, after all - he was speaking for the countries within Central Europe. And, Elizaveta being one of them, she agreed wholeheartedly to his message.

It further shocked her to hear Mathias's voice resonate throughout the hall, yet alone so closely to her own ear. Unlike Ludwig's, the Viking's tone of voice was more determined and hopeful; being around him for so long gave her the ability to interpret him without a problem. Her eyes shifted to the other four Northern Europeans, believing that the word 'family' would irk them. It sure did, as Valdimar turned away nervously to avoid any looks. Tino was grinning slightly and added in, "If we're able to unite again, I believe that you guys can too - anyone, really."

The Austrian adjusted his glasses before clearing his throat quietly to signal that he was going to speak. "I concur with Ludwig." He crossed his arms, flickering his eyes between Emil and Elizaveta. "Today is a good opportunity to begin any negotiations to settle your issues - as well as ours." He made temporary eye contact with the Slovak, who then stared at the floor, his eyebrows knitting together. From his expression, the nations could tell that he was deeply considering their words, as much as he despised those who stood before him. Emil then narrowed his eyes as he scanned the countries lingering in the background; he felt the pressure from their eyes. They wanted him to respond, to answer his fellow neighbors.

Lastly, the Slovak hesitantly but eventually met Elizaveta's gaze to analyze her face. She seemed weak because of her recent breakdown but was truly, mentally strong, appearing just as determined as Mathias to end their conflict. He thought for a few seconds longer, shutting his eyes as he did so, before pressing his arm against the table to lever himself onto his feet. As he opened his mouth, the anticipation building in Elizaveta caused a chill to run down her spine in fear that he wouldn't comply, but what came out instead was:

"Fine." His aggressive tone was absent in that single word of agreement. There was no sense of sarcasm, nothing that would make any nation doubt that he was lying. In fact, it was the voice that he would often use around Milena. "Let's begin the negotiations."

* * *

_**A/N: **_

_Phew! Been a while, but thanks for those you keeping up with this and hello to our new readers too! Yes, a chapter full of drama and the like, but we hope you like it! _

_So for those who don't remember, Slovakia/Emil is the one who has extremely tough relations with Hungary. They've had intense hatred for each other for a long while, and some time back in the RP he shot her twice. History-wise, Hungary tried to turn Slovakia "Hungarian" through Magyarization. Czech/Milena is together with Slovakia, and essentially went through the same thing he did, though with Germany instead._

_Another refresher - Denmark drank traubisoda before when he was going around Budapest with Hungary, and had some bad memories return back to him. Oh, and I'd like to say that traubisoda isn't exactly bad and I'm really not trying to stop you guys from drinking it. xD It's just nostalgic, but in the RP, we just happen to make it so that when a country drinks it, the bad memories return._

_There's a lot of drama again, but as I've said before, we're getting closer to the end. :0 I'd talk more about this chapter of the RP, but I'll save it until the end. Thank you soooo much again (and I'll never stop saying this) for sticking to this super long RP. ;_;_

_Again, if you're interested in Slovakia/Emil's and Czech/Milena's history, feel free to check out "The Heart of Europe", a fanfiction based on those two. Just add ~tzrema to the end of the usual fanfic url._


	41. Chapter 40

**APH - Den/Hun - Unexpected Invitation - Chapter 40 [Last one!]**

* * *

It seemed like the whole room was holding its breath as the nations waited for an answer. The music had long since stopped, adding to the silence. When Emil finally spoke, there was a mix of shock and relief in response. European nations all urgently looked to each other, wondering if this really was the path to a less chaotic future. Milena gazed at the Slovak for a while, her thoughts for her to have alone, and eventually looked towards the other nations, nodding in agreement.

Mathias's eyes widened, especially from hearing Emil's tone of voice. _He's...actually listening?_ The Dane glanced at the Austrian and German, and understood why. _It's always been a fight between them. . .but now, they're all actually working together and realizing their wrongs..._ Mathias found himself remembering moments from the past, his eyes seemingly focused on the ground ahead of him. _. . .Interesting._ Shaking the thoughts out of his head, he rose, helping Elizaveta onto her feet, keeping silent as he had done his part.

Ludwig had been staring at the two Eastern European nations with a fair amount of surprise, but quickly regained his usual serious composure. He nodded once, straightening up. "Very well." The German then looked to Roderich and Elizaveta, waiting for their response. The tension had been broken, but that did not mean there wasn't room for hostility to reemerge.

* * *

Elizaveta, Roderich, Tino and Valdimar found themselves just as stunned as many other nations. They had not seen that coming, as they were expecting him to kick away the obviously more peaceful option and stick to his own immutable beliefs. It sent some doubt to Tino and especially Valdimar - Emil had pulled off a trick before, and he had an easy chance to do it again. However, after a few passing seconds, they realized that he was serious. And that made Elizaveta too stunned and glad to speak.

Roderich and Elizaveta, while getting herself onto her feet, both nodded. As the Austrian headed off with Ludwig, the Hungarian intentionally remained where she was, close to Mathias. She stared up at him, showing him a small smile. "Thank you," she murmured, her voice fragile, and wrapped her arms around the Dane, burying her face into his clothes. "Thank you so much." She wasn't just thanking him for the little thing he had just done for them, but seemed to be thankful for everyone else and Emil's willingness to cooperate. She felt that she saying that wasn't enough either, because the biggest problem that she had for so long had just been solved.

Emil was watching her thoughtlessly for a moment; he only twitched an eyebrow slightly, perhaps a bit relieved though didn't want to show it, then turned to look at Milena. "You're a part of this too." He took her hand and led her in the direction to where the Germanic group was heading. Elizaveta, noticing the Slovak joining Ludwig and Roderich, released Mathias, but didn't leave until after getting on her tiptoes to peck him gently on his lips. She then quickly swerved away to the group meeting they were just about to start.

Tino, witnessing Elizaveta's display of affection, grinned as he approached Mathias, Valdimar following him. "Well, that seemed to work out perfectly." He gazed at Mathias's partner, who was sitting down at a table with the rest of the group. Gilbert came over out of curiosity as well. "Even if this is a ball, I guess it wouldn't be a bad place to hold a conference, either."

* * *

Mathias was slightly surprised with Elizaveta's voice-he was thinking she might have regained some of her strength-but understood that it was because of her current emotional state. He returned her embrace, lightly burying his nose in her hair, sighing. "Of course." He quietly responded, his voice strong and reassuring, with a spark of his usual humor.

Milena had also absorbed the scene-all the nations who had been watching started whispering and quietly murmuring to each other, starting to bring back the previous festive air to the occasion, though most were still in a daze from all that had just occurred. The Czech allowed herself to be led to the table where her two former oppressors had already arrived at, herself feeling relieved. "I know," she said quietly. "Just don't start something again."

Mathias glanced at the passing couple, then blinked in surprise at the peck her received from the Hungarian. He smiled and nodded to her before watching her join the others. He then nearly jumped from Tino's presence, though quickly recovered and grinned back. "Yeah-I mean, its purpose is for peace, right? A small conference with that same theme should be perfectly fine." Eirik and Berwald also walked over, with the Norwegian raising an eyebrow in what seemed to be amusement. "I hate to say it but...good job, Mathias."

* * *

"I won't," Emil responded with a low murmur, sliding out a seat for Milena to sit on first before taking his place next to her. Soon, Elizaveta joined the table on the Slovak's other side; he could tell that she was hesitant to be beside him, but decided that it was for the better. Luckily, Emil wasn't against it, as he had no reason to be. Once the appropriate nations were there, the Central Europeans' attention was turned to the Austrian as he spoke. "We'll make this quick and simple so that we won't be spending the rest of our time here talking about this. If we find out we need to make changes, we'll make any amendments as we deem necessary..."

Of course, Gilbert - with his growing interest in the sudden conference - interrupted to ask what was going on among the circle of countries, who then tried to convince him to join the discussion. He was a part of this situation as well, and without him their issues wouldn't be completely resolved. He started bickering with Roderich and Elizaveta, drunk as usual, and eventually that caused Emil spoke out, hoping that his intimidating aura would get him to agree with them.

On the meanwhile, Tino and Valdimar nodded in agreement with their fellow Nordic brother. "You did something right for once," mumbled the Icelandic nation, though Tino laughed as he knew it was just another form of crude jesting. Everything seemed better now for them; Elizaveta, too, found herself looking over to the five boys as she listened to the other nations around her finally get Gilbert to sit down, and her lips curled up into a small yet bright smile.

* * *

Weeks, months passed by since the International Peace ball. Negotiations had been settled between the Central European nations and no more issues between them had risen, putting at least some minds at ease. Various other issues had popped up, as nations could never escape the problems that their people may cause, even if the nation was what was blamed in the end.

Meetings were just as chaotic, arguments just as fierce, and frustration just as evident, but something was definitely different. Perhaps it was the show of cooperation and new beginnings at the ball, but the nations overall seemed more willing to work with each other (disregarding the few extremely stubborn ones). The European Union seemed to get a more firm grip on all that was going on, which seemed like a miracle to most.

_Things have changed._ Wind swept over the vast expanse of land, causing the Dane's coat and hair to dance. It had been more than a year, now, since he had been with Elizaveta. Distance could be an issue, but the two managed to see each other enough that it wasn't terrible. (Besides, the others thought they were getting too clingy, anyway.)

Now Mathias found himself standing in the very field that he had bumped into the Hungarian that fateful day. The day that sparked the chain of events that led to the present-with them together, with issues resolved. Here was where it all started. The air was crisp and clean, the blue of the sky starting to darken as the sun made it's way to the horizon. He looked to his right, where Elizaveta sat beside him, her thick, brown locks swaying like the ripples of the ocean. "So. . ."

* * *

"So it's been that long, huh?" Elizaveta murmured, completing what Mathias had trailed off on. "I can't believe that this much happened in a little over a year." She then turned her head to smile and gaze at him, which inevitably reminded her of the day she sat at this very place and twisted her body around only to set her eyes upon the Nordic. It was an impromptu visit, she remembered - impromptu for the both of them. Mathias surely wasn't planning to come to her in particular and Elizaveta had simply wandered to the grass field to try to ease herself of her headaches and distress caused by her problems. One issue only led to another, possibly even several, and once she managed to solve and relieve the burden off of her shoulders, they only came back to haunt her.

_Shit happens._ She never would have thought that the very nation, the very man who said that would accompany her down the entire path. He was the light that guided her through the dark obstacle, swept away the ghosts that made her mind unstable, led her away from the dead ends of the maze, and escorted her to the exit. It was him who removed the blindfold from her eyes and showed her the right direction to take. It was him who bandaged her wounds no matter how stubborn she was and took as long as it needed to take all the pieces of her shattered heart, sit down with the fragments, and patiently put it back together. Without him, Elizaveta wouldn't be where she was now and would have been constantly running into walls, or maybe even stuck at the beginning of the labyrinth, not even a single step in for a start because she was too broken to move.

But those turbulent days were over. She felt fresher than ever before, definitely more than when she was here last year. Of course, Mathias was the one to credit for her peaceful state of being. Though, Elizaveta was surprised with how well he aided her - he was the one who had a difficult time looking over four nations during their youth, in addition to putting up with their rebellious acts as they grew older. She, on the other hand, had no or little trouble with the Italian brothers and, at that time, Emil and a number of other Central European nations. In the end, it was Mathias who was getting along with his Nordic brothers and her who was going nearly insane from her own issues. Maybe it was because Mathias had the better strategy when it came to raising developing countries. Maybe she was better now than before because she had Mathias. Whatever it was, it worked.

Every now and then, there would be some kind of problem rising and a letter would appear on her desk, even for Mathias too. While roaming around their own countries, they would witness massive crowds of people demanding some sort of change. Luckily, those were trivial or didn't take much to resolve. And, fortunately, Elizaveta and Emil's relation was only improving - slowly but surely and steadily. As they participated in more meetings and came upon more agreements, they were becoming less like a cat and a dog hissing and barking at each other. They were aware of what sort of things would set each other off and avoided them as much as they could. Everything was only going uphill from here, which was what she had always wished for.

After much thought and silence, she spoke again. "...But I'm glad it came out to be like this." Elizaveta closed her eyes and snuggled closely to the Dane, hoping to steal some of his body warmth for her own as the winds picked up and the weather cooled down with the approaching nighttime. With the blows of wind in her face came drifting into her nose Mathias's scent, something she could only smell so often but was still very familiar with. It was clean but had much of the sea in it, an aroma she was neither too fond of nor used to, but was nevertheless comforting. It was the scent that she would detect from great lengths away while gardening and would use to know if Mathias arrived to her house, before throwing the hose aside and dashing up to him to greet, hug, and kiss him.

However, deep down inside, there was only one thing going downhill for her - the fact that it wasn't too easy for them to get together that often. He lived in the north, she lived a few countries down towards the southeast. There were days when he was busy and when she would hope that he'll come as soon as possible, or hope that she could visit him. Certain days he barely could make it, but not without passing out on her couch (and sometimes, strangely, on her bed) soon after arriving; the other days, he wouldn't. She would sit on her front porch, waiting to see his tall figure or car appear before her. She would be deceived by the wind and her nose, which she thought - for the briefest second - picked up Mathias's scent, though caused her excitement to turn into utter disappointment in the long run. She would enjoy the scenery, maybe read a book for a while, or maybe even fall asleep while reading - the time that she woke up and realized that Mathias was nowhere to be found was the most disheartening part of her wait, and then she would go back inside and hit the sack. And it didn't help that Mathias's scent was smothered all over her pillows and blanket, but little did she see that it was that that enabled her to sleep well at night.

Still, Elizaveta knew better than that. She handled her loneliness during the start of their relationship when Mathias was absent and thus was able to find other things to do. Talking and gossiping with Lili or Bella were among her options, while taking a walk in Budapest was another. She often retraced the steps that she and Mathias made when she took him to tour her Parliament building, and checked on how her government was doing. And many times she stayed with Berwald, Tino, Eirik, and Valdimar just to be as close to Mathias as possible. (Sneaking into one of Mathias's homes was too difficult with his intense security, and his castle with its booby traps wouldn't have been smart to try to get past.) But most of the time, the Hungarian stayed in her room, looking out the window as the red-white flower continued blooming extravagantly on her windowsill. Birds flew by very frequently, and sometimes she swore she saw the dove that Miklós and Kinia entrusted to her and Mathias was one of the birds flying with the rest of the group. As impossible as it was, Elizaveta tried to get her head away from thinking about Mathias because who knew, she believed, what kind of unexpected invitation she would find next on her doorstep.

* * *

**_A/N:_**

_That's the end, guys! We hope you enjoyed the RP/FF! 3 It was a little sudden, and we apologize for that. Also, it's a __very_ short chapter - amazing, right? But watch out, here comes a huge shitstorm of text comin' right at'cha to make this even longer! -shot for APH dub reference-

_**xneyu: **Oh, goodness, where to start? Hmmm, I know!  
I would like to first thank all of the readers who have stuck with us from the beginning to the end. We started this RP in April and this didn't finish until now, in December. You've put up with a ton of crappy writing, probably lots of typos, __lots_ of patience for the next chapters to come out over the span of _8_ months, _40_ chapters for this RP, and two very restless roleplayers. I can imagine how difficult we make this for you readers and for you guys to keep up with this RP/FF is amazing enough. I thank you all soooo much and I love you dearly! ;u;

_Also, my dear Amerzt teared up while reading that very last post. I hope you guys didn't go through the same thing! ;o; I already knew that this chapter was going to be super short and I was trying to make it as long as I could by...making it super sappy...but you can only go so far with it. We're sad that it's over (but it hasn't hit me...yet), though I'll tell you what we're planning to do next a little later in the artist's comments._

_I honestly would have liked for Denmark to have taken down the traubisoda, or more specifically, have his head completely submerged in the bowl of traubisoda. It would have made him a bit more involved and significant, plot-line wise. However, if you recall from the first several chapters, the RP mainly revolves around Hungary and the various issues she's been having as a nation, and how she tries to deal with them (with the help of Denmark). Here, the end, she manages to solve them. Slovakia/Emil was the plot-line driver because he was the one who also contributed to her problems, but as you can see, they're getting along now. (And as small the possibility that this is going to happen, I wish Slovakia and Hungary in real life would start getting along as well and I hope the Slovaks and Hungarians would do the same. I know that some while ago, Slovakia tried something to make relations better.) Everything's good and everyone's happy, so it's hard to continue the RP. That's my opinion, anyways. o_

_Again, hope that you guys enjoyed reading our RP! It's the least we can do at the moment to contribute to the fandom. (I need to get my creative side kicking again and start drawing and uploading fanart. _) If you haven't heard yet, Amerzt and I are going to start a Gakuen-styled (high school setting) Den/Hun RP, though it also focuses on Slovakia's and Czech's relationship. It'll be less history-based unlike __Unexpected Invitation_, but I have a feeling that it's going to be better than this RP for some odd reason. xD If you're not interested with Slovakia and Czech, I think we'll be doing the "~~~~" thing, so you can read Denmark's and Hungary's part separately, unless they happen to be in the same area. Slovakia and Czech will be playing a big part in Denmark's and Hungary's school life as well, so it's recommended that you read their parts too! n_n

_The thing is, we might not be uploading a chapter as soon as possible like we did for __UI (errr, kind of)._ We probably won't even be uploading any of it unless you guys really want us to. But if we do, we'll wait for the Gakuen RP to finish before starting to upload the chapters so that they can be uploaded on regular time intervals, not just randomly (like this one). _ It relieves the pressure off of us to reply to the RP faster and such. As you can see, we're very busy people and need to take our time. D;

_If you want me to upload the Gakuen RP when it's finished, let one of us know!  
__See you around! (insert heart here)_

_Please review!_


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